Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava
no, I never said that I think the more we spend the more we receive. I think that you need to re-read what I wrote. The two statments I highlighted in the other post are basically polar opposites.
My thinking is that while we need to look at how services are delivered, this is a separate discussion. I don't want to see the discussion on "should we cut services" tied to a discussion on the revenue side of things; we know that we can have enough revenue and its really a matter of how that is collected.
The terrifying thing about the Wildrose Alliance (or one of the terrifying things) is that they have a silver bullet here if you believe them. They somehow have a mystical solution for every potential issue that isn't costed out and we don't really know what the plan would entail. They are going to balance the budget annually, increase services and reduce health waiting times, not increase taxes and save money for the future at the same time. When I hear statements about how they can magically right every thing thats wrong with no laid out plan of how this is proposed, I get suspicious.
I also standby my thought that it is quite likely that a true fiscal conservative would be advocating for a tax hike. People should pay their fair share for the services that they want. I don't think that the appetite is there to cut services, so quite clearly the real discussion is how to pay for this.
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I'd like to pay for health care, but I'm not allowed. If I want enhanced health care, I have to wait for everybody to pay for it in the form of increased taxes. This paradigm has to shift! Establish a standard basis of services, pay for it via government funded by tax dollars, and then allow enhanced services to be delivered through other means, including (but not limited) to the private sector. If this cannot be achieved, we will always have that one uncontrolled line item in every budget regardless of the party in power that disables any hope for a balanced budget without ongoing, year-after-year tax increases or tapping into the resource dollars.
Sorry to keep harping on health care, but it really is the fly in the ointment of all these discussions, especially in regards to the first bolded statement above. We only have enough revenue when commodity prices are high and that has proven to be cyclical.
If the government wants to be everything to everyone, no party will be able to create and balance a coherent budget.