Alberta budget news

[automaton 3]

Made some what I think are relatively mild cuts, an additional 2 cents in fuel taxes + 2nd tax rate over $250,000 and I had a small surplus.

Health care spending appears to be the 500 pound gorilla in the room, at $16.81B

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Handsome B. Wonderful

Exactly, the whole site is designed so that jacking up taxes at the end solves the problems.

They also (in most cases) limit how much you can cut. 10%, 20% etc.

They should have allowed user to enter the percentage of cut. Or even to "eliminate"; which they only had on one or two IIRC.

I used $70 oil, didn't raise taxes or add any fees and got it to a 0.3 B surplus.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by First Lady

They also (in most cases) limit how much you can cut. 10%, 20% etc.

They should have allowed user to enter the percentage of cut. Or even to "eliminate"; which they only had on one or two IIRC.

I used $70 oil, didn't raise taxes or add any fees and got it to a 0.3 B surplus.

I think that's good though? Then you don't have to bother hearing the people saying "I would just cut everything by 20%" which is basically useless input.

[crazy_eoj]

Great PR exercise in trying to control the debate, but they clearly have left out some options that many people would likely support.

Cutting all Public Sector Salaries perhaps?

[RubberDuck]

I don't know how anyone would think that a budget calcuator created by the PC's would be anything but skewed for their own purpose.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Slava

I think that's good though? Then you don't have to bother hearing the people saying "I would just cut everything by 20%" which is basically useless input.

So you support controlling the input. Which is exactly what they have done.

We all know exactly why they are doing this - - so in March they can say "53% of Albertans support increasing taxes" or reinstating AHS fees, etc.

Anyone who doesn't think they already have the bulk of the budget hammered out at this point is delusional.

The whole having a "summit" is just hogwash. They were elected to govern and here we are a month away from the budget and they are supposedly still in "consulation" mode - give me a break.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by First Lady

So you support controlling the input. Which is exactly what they have done.

We all know exactly why they are doing this - - so in March they can say "53% of Albertans support increasing taxes" or reinstating AHS fees, etc.

Anyone who doesn't think they already have the bulk of the budget hammered out at this point is delusional.

The whole having a "summit" is just hogwash. They were elected to govern and here we are a month away from the budget and they are supposedly still in "consulation" mode - give me a break.

Well the reality is that people were elected to govern. Do we really need uneducated input like "cut the waste" or "find efficiencies"? Maybe Danielle Smith could post her version and we can see this finally?

[RubberDuck]

Originally Posted by Slava

Well the reality is that people were elected to govern. Do we really need uneducated input like "cut the waste" or "find efficiencies"? Maybe Danielle Smith could post her version and we can see this finally?

You seem to know what reality is, but you keep deflecting to hypothetical, 'What would the Wildrose/Danielle Smith have done', scenarios.

You've done it so often it's hilarious to hear you make a comment about reality.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by First Lady

The whole having a "summit" is just hogwash. They were elected to govern and here we are a month away from the budget and they are supposedly still in "consulation" mode - give me a break.

Well you have your chance to participate. There was the "Town Hall Meeting" if you were a party member and they phoned you. There is also the online tool that points you toward tax increases to fix all problems. Kinda reminds me of CBC's vote compass that defaulted to Liberal.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by RubberDuck

You seem to know what reality is, but you keep deflecting to hypothetical, 'What would the Wildrose/Danielle Smith have done', scenarios.

You've done it so often it's hilarious to hear you make a comment about reality.

Well FL is definitely a Wildrose supporter, so why isn't it fair to ask?

[RubberDuck]

Originally Posted by Slava

Well FL is definitely a Wildrose supporter, so why isn't it fair to ask?

Not saying it isn't fair to ask, I just find it funny how many times in this thread that PC supporters have answered critisism with deflection to the hypothetical.

[Rathji]

Just adding a 5% sales tax, and putting Alberta Health care fees back at old levels and there is a 1.6 billion deficit at $50 a barrel. At $62 a barrel, it is a 1.2 billion surplus. That is with zero cuts.

Trim a little fat and that is a balanced budget (give or take).

Energy surpluses go into a combination of the Heritage fund, Infrastructure, or even rebate cheques.

[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by Slava

Well the reality is that people were elected to govern. Do we really need uneducated input like "cut the waste" or "find efficiencies"? Maybe Danielle Smith could post her version and we can see this finally?

You wouldn't believe it anyways, so why do you even pretend to care?

I mean, there's plenty of evidence out there that other places are able to deliver services much cheaper than Alberta. Many might generalize that as 'finding efficiencies' or 'cutting waste', but when a partisan believes any such suggestion is 'uneducated input' they are merely trying to shut down discussion.

Why could we deliver comparable services in Alberta in 2000 with public salaries on par with the rest of Canada, but now we are paying 20-40% more than other provinces with no change in outcomes?

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by RubberDuck

Not saying it isn't fair to ask, I just find it funny how many times in this thread that PC supporters have answered critisism with deflection to the hypothetical.

I don't understand why asking what the leader of the opposition party would suggest for a budget is hypothetical. Isn't it her job to provide options she thinks are better?

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

You wouldn't believe it anyways, so why do you even pretend to care?

I mean, there's plenty of evidence out there that other places are able to deliver services much cheaper than Alberta. Many might generalize that as 'finding efficiencies' or 'cutting waste', but when a partisan believes any such suggestion is 'uneducated input' they are merely trying to shut down discussion.

Why could we deliver comparable services in Alberta in 2000 with public salaries on par with the rest of Canada, but now we are paying 20-40% more than other provinces with no change in outcomes?

Do you seriously need to have what happened in this province in the middle of the decade explained to you?

[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I don't understand why asking what the leader of the opposition party would suggest for a budget is hypothetical. Isn't it her job to provide options she thinks are better?

I'm sure they will provide an alternative budget again this year. They did last year and there was plenty of options to cut spending offered.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Slava

Well the reality is that people were elected to govern. Do we really need uneducated input like "cut the waste" or "find efficiencies"?

You and I agree on the governing aspect. Part of governing is being intouch with the public. Through that they should get a sense of what the priorties are for Albertans. By now they should have a solid perspective of what we are willing to pay more for or what we are willing to go without.

While asking the average citizen how they would actually spend the money is a nice excercise; I highly doubt it will actually impact the final budget.

Maybe Danielle Smith could post her version and we can see this finally?

Seems to me the party did this before. And you didn't like it because - well because it was the Wildrose who posted it.

[Dion]

Have to wonder why that budget didn't include rollback on wages to MLA's, AHS executives and CEO's. It's a fair thing to ask when GP's are asked to take a rollback and the rest of us are expected to tighten our belts. Redford should start by trimming the fat in her own govt first.

[Husky]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Just adding a 5% sales tax, and putting Alberta Health care fees back at old levels and there is a 1.6 billion deficit at $50 a barrel. At $62 a barrel, it is a 1.2 billion surplus. That is with zero cuts.

Trim a little fat and that is a balanced budget (give or take).

Energy surpluses go into a combination of the Heritage fund, Infrastructure, or even rebate cheques.

I dont quite agree. All you are doing is passing additional costs onto end users. The goivernment NEEDS to start managing their capital better. Giving them more money does nothing for becoming more efficient. If anything its led to this problem.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by RubberDuck

Not saying it isn't fair to ask, I just find it funny how many times in this thread that PC supporters have answered critisism with deflection to the hypothetical.

I'm not a PC supporter and I'm not deflecting anything. I've answered enough criticism for my thoughts here, it's not like I'm posting in threads and then never returning! I just think that its fair to hear what the other side would offer up as a solution.

So in this case the critique is that there are not enough options to balance the budget the way they want. Great. How would you do it then? I really don't see why that question is seen as deflecting or somehow trying to pigeonhole the Wildrose? Frankly, if I were running to be in government I would have my solutions plastered all over the place to make sure everyone knew how I could do what the government couldn't!

[Senator Clay Davis]

One thing for all you Wildrose supporters to remember: Us not liking your policies does not mean we are PC supporters, it means we think your policies are awful. Understand that not supporting your policies is not an endorsement of the PCs, it just means we think your policies are worse.