Quote:
Originally Posted by belsarius
In almost all respects the everyday Albertan is worse off in the personal finances because of UCP decisions. But that won't matter either. It's decades of dogmatic propaganda that Socialism = bad. No critical thinking required.
|
Not just Alberta, but a large percentage of the population simply equates better finances with lower taxes (and in Alberta's case, higher priced oil). They don't think about the higher insurance fees, higher utility rates, and more user fees for things like Parks and other services. Why? Because it doesn't directly come from the government. But UCP policies have made life more expensive, even when they're swimming in cash and have also not made life easier for those in need (e.g. AISH, safe consumption sites) with said cash and don't plan on doing so (as far as I can tell).
Higher oil prices also hasn't equated to replaceable jobs. In fact, it seems the majority of jobs coming through places like Calgary are from other industries, including Fintech and SaaS. Energy companies are relying more on tech anyways to replace jobs. I am sure there is increased work in the sands though, despite all the grumbling and mumbling about federal policies.
Not to mention a lot of these people are going to be taking advantage of "socialist" policies such as child care and dental care. Many of them already took CERB too, cap in hand, while demonizing these social programs.
But people's brains start and stop at "taxes". And if it looks expensive or sounds expensive (especially if their parents and grandparents created a proverbial boogeyman around it), then they're going to stick to the "no taxes" party even if it's a self-inflicted wound.