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Originally Posted by jammies
That's the beauty of it, no matter which of the three big parties you voted for, you'd be hearing about buyer's remorse if your guys had won. I don't disagree that the NDP has done a terrible job, but I do disagree that any realistic alternative would have been much better. I hope that next election, the almost inevitable voter anger channels itself more productively, but I know that it's more likely we end up with different circus starring different clowns.
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Energy royalty revenues, and the sense of blithe entitlement they inspired in Alberta voters, poisoned the political culture of this province. Alberta voters have lost any sense of correlation between the taxes they pay and the services they receive. Just as workers in the energy industry took 100K salaries, 6K bonuses, rising stock options, and iron-clad job security for granted, as voters we took rock-bottom taxes and the highest-per-capita spending for granted. As workers in the private sector, we got a rude awakening to the new reality. As voters, we're still living in a fantasy world.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinordi
That's not particularly true. The reason those public servants make more was because they worked in a hot labour market. You simply can't separate the market for teachers with the market for oil and gas workers. They compete against each other for talent. This is a basic tenet of economics that is wholly lost in these reaches.
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Some fields do and some don't. Was Alberta facing a teacher shortage in 2006? People who major in Sociology and English Literature can't easily transfer those credentials to the private sector.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinordi
Please, demonstrate to me where there are billions of dollars of inefficiencies in the system. Don't wave your hands at it. Tell me where you cut 6 to 10 billion. Be specific.
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Looking for inefficiencies is the clarion call of the perpetually deluded. People who don't want to recognise any correlation between the taxes they pay and the services they receive. There were serious inefficiencies in every oil company in this province. But when the sh*t hit the fan, companies had to cut a lot more than the coffee budget and a few marketing flacks. A balanced provincial budget, in this energy climate, will involve substantial cuts to public services that will be felt by everyone, along with substantial increases to taxes that will be felt by everyone. The fantasy fiscal model of the energy boom is over.