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Originally Posted by GirlySports
So is the solution to become a have-not province? Or just not complain about it.
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IMO, the main problems that Alberta has with equalization are:
1) Lack of respect of how big the difference is between Federal revenue and spending in Alberta; it's around 5% of Alberta GDP/>$4000 per person and is extraordinarily large compared to other provinces or US states. Rich blue American states complain all the time about supporting poor red states but they lose far less; $2500 per person (Connecticut), $1000 (NY) and barely anything in California and Washington State.
And when an economy loses 5% of GDP every year to redistribution; that impact its strength, its ability to diversify, its ability to save (like often compared Norway) that is almost never acknowledged by the Rest of Canada.
2) Lack of political influence. Despite providing large surpluses for the Federal Government, it doesn't have the political influence to move trans-provincial projects and export quickly to compete with the likes the Middle East or Australia with LNG. We also have the wasted effort of the just transition, "worrying" about far future Alberta when it should worry about finding meaningful jobs and industry for Atlantic Canada today.
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I know a lot of conservatives complain about equalization and it's stupid. It's like complaining about paying more taxes. I wish I paid a million dollars in taxes.
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But you might be angry about paying more taxes if your poorer neighbors and government officials were trying to prevent your business from expanding, or even trying to shut it down and calling you evil, backwards.