Top Ten Reasons Alberta’s in a Deficit

[First Lady]

Top Ten Reasons Alberta’s in a Deficit !

10) Adding in extra elections for strategy rather than democracy is expensive.

9) Ed increases cabinet size to repay friends for sticking with him, costing Albertans millions.

8) Alberta cabinet ministers give themselves 30% pay raises in May, costing more millions.

7) Ed Stelmach and crew make $1.3 billion election promises in the two weeks before election to ensure re-election. Your vote is expensive to buy; with your money!

6) Albertans realize after the regional health boards are dismissed that it costs a lot to have appointed executives, but even more to fire them.

5) Oil prices failed to continue to sky rocket. Go figure!

4) Even though oil prices plummeted, Stelmach and Evans kept spending.

3) Alberta Progressive Conservatives practice fiscally liberal policies.

2) Ed Stelmach and Mel Knight’s bumbled Royalty scheme drove out Billions of dollars of investment.

And the number one reason Alberta’s in a Deficit:

1) Alberta PC’s have been spending money like drunken sailors. No offense to drunken sailors; at least they spend their own money.


Reprinted with permission from the author, Todd Loewen.

[ricoFlame]

Originally Posted by First Lady

1) Alberta PC’s have been spending money like drunken sailors. No offense to drunken sailors; at least they spend their own money.

Now that's just not fair. there's no way to prove the drunken sailors are spending their own money.

[DFO]

Alot of it falls to the policies of King Ralph.

[FFR]

Well....if that isn't one of the most biased lists I've ever read.

You can't argue that other parties wouldn't have done half of those. I mean any party would have voted themselves a 30% raise for MLA's. Don't kid yourself that it's only the PC's.

I always find it funny how opposition parties scream and yell for increases in spending when times are good and the government is either running a surplus or a balanced budget and then during a global recession when every province other than Saskatchewan is running a deficit they're yelling and screaming becuase they spent too much. I realize that is the role of the opposition, but lists like this are ridiculous because you could apply them to any party in power and it wouldn't need to be changed.

[Cheese]

hmmm...fishy. Right Wingers slamming Right Wingers.

[Resolute 14]

#10 is ridiculous, unless you can point out to me the election that was held during this economic downturn.

#9 and 8 are deliberately misleading, as the true cost on a per year basis is less than $1 million, I would wager.

#7 is irrelevant unless he actually followed through. Also, I don't recall hearing anyone complain much about the elimination of health care premiums.

#6 does not provide any kind of quantifiable basis for us to judge.

#5 is simply stupid. Alberta doesn't need oil prices to "continue to skyrocket" to remain in the black. However, nobody on earth expected Oil to fall from $150 a barrel to $40 in such a short period of time. The author of this story is trying to blame Stelmach for something out of his, and everyone elses, control. This point alone nearly renders the entire article worthless.

#4 - it took him seven tries, but the writer finally hits on a real point.

#3 - Also true, and something everyone knew would need to be changed.

#2 - Again, true

#1 - redundant to #3

So really, Mr. Loewen managed only three arguments with any basis, and instead wasted 70% of his piece with worthless anti-Stelmach garbage. Yes, this article is garbage, and I am no fan of Stelmach at all.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

honestly, that deserved attribution?

There's more in your typical CP post.

Still, it is tragic that the tories pissed away the boom, once again.

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by FFR

Well....if that isn't one of the most biased lists I've ever read.

Originally Posted by Cheese

hmmm...fishy. Right Wingers slamming Right Wingers.

http://executivedirectorsdesk.blogspot.com/

In February I became the Executive Director for the Wildrose Alliance Party. In a nutshell I am responsible for the operational side of the party activities

[automaton 3]

And here I thought it had something to do with the global financial meltdown and crashing commodity prices.

[Azure]

Some of them have a point, which is why I thanked the post....maybe more because I was hoping someone would generate this discussion.

We can cut back on spending, ride out the storm, and wait until oil settles back to $70-$80/bbl.

Also, how much as the change to the royalties structure really hurt Alberta? You've got oil companies taking their money out of the US, and to low-tax countries, and investing it there, all because of Obama's high taxation agenda. How much of that is happening here?

[JustAnotherGuy]

Originally Posted by Bend it like Bourgeois

honestly, that deserved attribution?

There's more in your typical CP post.

Still, it is tragic that the tories pissed away the boom, once again.

I think which ever party was in power would probably have pissed away another boom. The people of Alberta demand spending takes place when the province is rich.

I just wish that we get it right before all the oil runs out.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by automaton 3

And here I thought it had something to do with the global financial meltdown and crashing commodity prices.

Well they could have planned just a little bit better, dontcha think?

If a guy acted like the Alberta government, this is how he would roll...

A) He'd be making a million dollars a year
B) He'd be debt free

If he lost his job on Friday, he'd be broke on Monday and all his friends would pat him on the back, lamenting his bad luck.

[Azure]

It wasn't like the price of oil fell from $140/bbl, to $30/bbl, overnight.

The government could have managed everything better.

I guess we'll have to dip into the Heritage Fund now.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by RedHot25

http://executivedirectorsdesk.blogspot.com/

In February I became the Executive Director for the Wildrose Alliance Party. In a nutshell I am responsible for the operational side of the party activities

Good work there Sherlock. From my very first post here, who I am and my party affiliations have not been any secret.

Originally Posted by Azure

....maybe more because I was hoping someone would generate this discussion.

Bingo.
Many Albertans think we are still debt free. They do not realize they (PC's) have already dipped into the various "savings" funds.
Additionally we have a law that states the government must have balanced budgets.
Now that they can no longer accomplish that; their solition is to change the law.....

[JustAnotherGuy]

Originally Posted by Azure

It wasn't like the price of oil fell from $140/bbl, to $30/bbl, overnight.

The government could have managed everything better.

I guess we'll have to dip into the Heritage Fund now.

Correct. The price of oil did not fall overnight but how long do you think it takes for big business and government to react to a change in the economic outlook? Can they make a change in one night, two nights? One week? Two weeks? One month? Two months? One year? Two years?

Also, can you give me one example of how the government could have managed things better? Thanks.

[ricoFlame]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Bingo.
Many Albertans think we are still debt free. They do not realize they (PC's) have already dipped into the various "savings" funds.
Additionally we have a law that states the government must have balanced budgets.
Now that they can no longer accomplish that; their solition is to change the law.....

They pretty much have to run an "illegal" deficit, how else are we going to pave the streets in gold?

[Azure]

Originally Posted by JustAnotherGuy

Correct. The price of oil did not fall overnight but how long do you think it takes for big business and government to react to a change in the economic outlook? Can they make a change in one night, two nights? One week? Two weeks? One month? Two months? One year? Two years?

Also, can you give me one example of how the government could have managed things better? Thanks.

2009 budget comes out in April. There 'should' be cuts, but I don't expect any.

Maybe I will be surprised.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by fotze

Anyone know what oil price this deficit budget is based on? Gas price?

$70/bbl?

I recall reading somewhere that Budget 2008 was based on $70/bbl oil.

[BlackArcher101]

Reason #1: The Global Economy

How can this be blamed on Stelmach?

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Good work there Sherlock. From my very first post here, who I am and my party affiliations have not been any secret.

Thanks, I try. Scotland Yard here I come.

Not everyone knows that you belong to a particular party and are quite active/high up in it. I don't think there's anything wrong in pointing that out in a thread such as this. But then again, I'm just Sherlock .