[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Locke

They could have raised the personal tax rates, even the Corporate tax rates, incentivize people to get that money out of their companies and into their personal hands where the Government makes their cake.

Can you explain how they would incentivize people to get that money out of their company?

What they should have done was stalled the minimum wage increase, canned the Carbon Tax entirely and said: "Hey, now isnt the time to do a Royalty Review" which, while they took their sweet time doing it Oil companies invested their dollars elsewhere.

So in the last paragraph you were wanting employees to be paid more, but you don't want them getting a raise? I seem to recall when the minimum wage was being discussed, numerous posters were adamant that it would have a ripple effect and everyone would be getting a raise, while I don't agree with that, if they are right wouldn't that help employees get paid more?

On your second point, you can blame the royalty review all you want for oil companies investing elsewhere, but can you say with certainty that the actual cause wasn't the price of oil dropping to $30/barrel?

Imposing tons of additional taxes and burdens during a recession while increasing Government costs? Yeah, this is going to set the future up really well.

In your first paragraph you suggested raising taxes, but you don't want them to spend it on anything? So you're suggesting people who are struggling in a bad economy should pay more money so the government can make a nice rainy day fund instead of either side being able spend that money to stimulate the economy? I understand your disagreement with where some of the money is being spent, but you can't seriously be under the impression all this extra money is going towards operations.

I dont even know what else to say. Caution and patience would have been better. Practicality over Ideology.

Caution and patience could have been better, or it could have been worse. We will find out. If oil bounces back to $80/barrel, my guess is we would have a bounce back one way or another. Now consider these scenarios with all these changes they are making, would it be more stable to have these already in place when things start to turn around so when businesses start investing here they know what they are getting into, or would it be more stable to introduce these changes with unknown impact just because more people are employed here buy companies that historically pack up and leave when they feel it's not worth operating here?