Quote:
Originally Posted by Makarov
I get it. Free money is good for Alberta, just not for those spoiled babies in Quebec.
Alberta certainly has the ability to reduce tuition and daycare costs to Quebec levels if it chose to do so. I suppose it needs to be pointed out again for the thousandth time; Quebec does not spend more money than Alberta. Both provinces spend roughly $14,000 per resident per year ( source). Quebec simply spends its money on different things. |
Or maybe Quebec can do things at lower cost because the government doesn't have to compete for labour with oil. I'm not 100% against equalization, but when when the equalizee can afford things the equalizer can't, there's a problem. The formula needs to account for the fact that a government just can't get as much bang for its bucks when it has to compete with a stronger private sector. Furthermore, paying for growth is more expensive than simply maintaining a status-quo (due to having capital costs on top of operating costs). And then you have the possibility of excessive equalization making the country as a whole poorer due to being a disincentive to efficient allocation of labour.
And oil money isn't exactly free, it comes with things like environmental liabilities and requires investment to achieve and sustain (e.g. Highway 63 doubling, paying off BC for Northern Gateway, etc.). It is made stronger by a business-friendly tax environment.