[CliffFletcher]

This isn’t just an Alberta problem. Or even a Canadian problem. The developed West is facing a reckoning that public policy experts and economists have been warning about for decades - demographics that put an ever-increasing strain on delivering public services.

But voters don’t want to hear that message. Older voters are hostile to any suggestion that they’re a burden on the public purse, or that they haven’t paid sufficient taxes to cover their needs, while younger voters wonder why they should have to foot the bill for older generations. And most prefer to see the shortfall of resources as a consequence of their political enemies cutting funding, or needless waste that can be easily cleaned up, rather than acknowledge that both spending and demands on the health care system are climbing relentlessly.

It’s tempting to believe the problem will be solved by simply voting against politicians you hate. The reality is that maintaining health care standards for our aging population will require more money (higher taxes for everyone), systemic reform of training and delivery that will piss off a lot of stakeholders, and will take decades. It will be a test of whether long-term, bipartisan, systemic reform is even possible in today’s political climate.