Quote:
Originally Posted by SebC
Keep in mind that the Laffer curve pertains to government revenue which is only one part of the net-public-benefit equation. Rates should not be set to maximize government revenue.
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Which is of course a delicate issue. The government collects the royalties obviously, not us as citizens, so if they collect it and waste it then obviously there is no net benefit to the public. I don't think the dividend cheques are the way to go because there will likely be little actually final positive economic impact on Alberta. Sadly most of the dollars will be leaving the province through outside corporation profits unless everyone spends it on local companies (which of course I would recommend).
Putting all royalty revenue in the Heritage Fund is acceptable to me, though I would like to see at least some go to infrastructure projects because whether we need them now or 10 years from now, we need them. The difference with building now is you can project costs better, whereas in 10 years everything, labour, parts etc might rise dramatically.