Alberta Politics Thread

[IliketoPuck]

Originally Posted by belsarius

Notley with a second term minority (mostly because conservatives in this province refuse to believe how progressive it is becoming) and Jason Kenney returns to the bridge he crawled out from. She then promptly loses her first budget vote and an another election is triggered. Nenshi wins the PC leadership and takes them to the next Progressive Conservative dynasty.

Incredibly, you've rolled up most of my nightmares into one post.

[belsarius]

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

Incredibly, you've rolled up most of my nightmares into one post.

Happy Halloween?

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by belsarius

Happy Halloween?

Dia de los muertos.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by belsarius

Notley with a second term minority (mostly because conservatives in this province refuse to believe how progressive it is becoming) and Jason Kenney returns to the bridge he crawled out from. She then promptly loses her first budget vote and an another election is triggered. Nenshi wins the PC leadership and takes them to the next Progressive Conservative dynasty.

Outside of Edmonton, I would be very surprised if Notley and the NDP won a single seat next election.

[killer_carlson]

I think Edmonton will be up for grabs.

If the PCs force the Jansen types out of the PC party, I think there are a lot of voters in Edmonton who would support to that party.

Don't mistake Edmonton's support of NDP - an awful lot of it is because there isn't alternatives.

Some huge WR blunders occurred in Edmonton on social issues and the party has struggled to recover. The PCs still bear the consequence of civil servants being directed for political reasons to goofy outcomes (see the Redford era). The Liberals and Alberta Party are non-factors.

That said, i've mentioned before that my observation is that for the last several years the NDP has been active in the community, being present at community events, particpating in neighbourhood cleanups, farmers markets etc. Their competitors are wholly absent until the writ is dropped. For some voters they'll vote for the party who is actually prepared to roll up the sleeves and work for the vote. The NDP flat out earns that vote through sweat equity.

[corporatejay]

I find it funny that when Kenney says he'll "unite the right" that he's somehow the alternative to the wildrose that will come to the middle. That's delusional.

He's a Wild Roser running for PC leadership. He's certainly not the PC leader I want.

[Tron_fdc]

If the WR or PC can't form a government based on the amount of platforms out there that are anti NDP, then they should be thrown out of the province.

Real or not, there's enough ammo out there that a chimpanzee could get elected with the right campaign.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

If the WR or PC can't form a government based on the amount of platforms out there that are anti NDP, then they should be thrown out of the province.

Real or not, there's enough ammo out there that a chimpanzee could get elected with the right campaign.

Hmmm.....challenge accepted!

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by Locke

Hmmm.....challenge accepted!

Seriously though.


"I'm going to create an environment to attract business, get rid of the carbon tax, fight the feds, push pipelines, stimulate our provincial economy, cut gov't spending and we all will profit. Death to socialism!"

The layman won't care if it's true or not, it's what they want to hear.

Done. Elected.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Seriously though.


"I'm going to create an environment to attract business, get rid of the carbon tax, fight the feds, push pipelines, stimulate our provincial economy, cut gov't spending and we all will profit. Death to socialism!"

The layman won't care if it's true or not, it's what they want to hear.

Done. Elected.

[calculoso]

Alberta NDP found in contempt of legislature over carbon tax radio ads

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/11/0...-tax-radio-ads

The provincial government was rapped on the knuckles Tuesday for carbon tax radio ads it aired this past summer.

Government isn't allowed to promote legislation still making its way through the house — and Bill 20, which includes the carbon tax, had yet to be given an official thumbs-up.

It's the second time the NDP has been ruled out of order for its public communications.

...

Although Wildrose house leader Nathan Cooper stood up to speak, Wanner declared that once a guilty party delivers an apology, the matter is over.

How can the matter be over with a simple apology? I'm surprised that (Speaker Robert Wanner) would say that.

[Resolute 14]

You shouldn't be. The speaker is an NDP MLA. He's trying to rush this through to closure to try and stifle the opposition's ability to play up the fact that his party has a habit of using taxpayer dollars for partisan ads - exactly the thing they promised to end, btw.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Some people will make some extra money due to minimum wage increases.

A few people will lose jobs due to same.

More people will lose jobs due to economic hardships created by massive increase in taxes. This is on top of job losses due to oil tanking.

Everyone will see their purchasing power decrease, and everyone except those minimum wage workers will see discretionary income decrease.

So, yes, the mindset that the bad will outweigh the good is hardly unexpected. Especially when the proponents of the good outweighing the bad seem to be expecting Alberta will become a major world exporter of fairy dust and unicorn horns.

Why would everyone's purchasing power decrease? Seriously, wouldn't the invisible hand that everyone claims regulates the economy take care of this imbalance? With people losing jobs all over the place, prices would drop would they not?

Why is it that so many in this thread who claim the minimum wage being raised is uncalled for because wages are figured out and corrected by the markets, don't believe in the markets also correcting for other economic factors?

In this thread people have argued that rent will or could go up because of this increase, really? So all these landlords who can't find tenants for their rentals now are going to all of the suddenly think that asking for more because people got a raise is going to get tenants to sign a lease? Right....

Some have also claimed the the price of everything will go up, why should this happen anywhere other than at businesses that are paying minimum wage? Around 18% of Albertans make under $15/hour, why is this going to affect the price of something like a trip to the dentist? No one there makes less than $15/hour, is the dentist frustrated because his Big Mac is more expensive so he's goona take it out on his patients? Guess what? He could have done that anyways. Ok so let's say that dentist is getting charged more by one of his suppliers, so he wants to raise his prices because of that, take benefits out of the equation, if someone doesn't want to pay his new price, he will lose business if patients can find someone cheaper. Consumers actually using their buying power wisely will grow their buying power, not keeping minimum wage low.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

Why would everyone's purchasing power decrease? Seriously, wouldn't the invisible hand that everyone claims regulates the economy take care of this imbalance? With people losing jobs all over the place, prices would drop would they not?

Why is it that so many in this thread who claim the minimum wage being raised is uncalled for because wages are figured out and corrected by the markets, don't believe in the markets also correcting for other economic factors?

In this thread people have argued that rent will or could go up because of this increase, really? So all these landlords who can't find tenants for their rentals now are going to all of the suddenly think that asking for more because people got a raise is going to get tenants to sign a lease? Right....

Some have also claimed the the price of everything will go up, why should this happen anywhere other than at businesses that are paying minimum wage? Around 18% of Albertans make under $15/hour, why is this going to affect the price of something like a trip to the dentist? No one there makes less than $15/hour, is the dentist frustrated because his Big Mac is more expensive so he's goona take it out on his patients? Guess what? He could have done that anyways. Ok so let's say that dentist is getting charged more by one of his suppliers, so he wants to raise his prices because of that, take benefits out of the equation, if someone doesn't want to pay his new price, he will lose business if patients can find someone cheaper. Consumers actually using their buying power wisely will grow their buying power, not keeping minimum wage low.

Everyone's buying power decreases because every business now has higher costs. Those increases get passed on to everyone. Companies won't allow additional taxes and expenses to eat into their profits.

No, people losing their jobs does not mean prices will drop. That's ridiculous. Those jobless people CANT buy as much as they used to (aka lower buying power) which means a business has less revenue.

With less revenue, they must find alternative ways to maintain shareholder value and equity. This results in raising their prices for consumer goods, meaning you pay more for them (aka everyone's purchasing power)

Rent will go up, because landlords operating costs went up in the form of higher property taxes & higher utility bills.

You're diluting the issue. The carbon tax, combined with the increased business taxes, combined with the increased operating costs, combined with the increased property taxes is not business friendly. It will create a welfare state.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Frank MetaMusil

Everyone's buying power decreases because every business now has higher costs. Those increases get passed on to everyone. Companies won't allow additional taxes and expenses to eat into their profits.

No, people losing their jobs does not mean prices will drop. That's ridiculous. Those jobless people CANT buy as much as they used to (aka lower buying power) which means a business has less revenue.

With less revenue, they must find alternative ways to maintain shareholder value and equity. This results in raising their prices for consumer goods, meaning you pay more for them (aka everyone's purchasing power)

Rent will go up, because landlords operating costs went up in the form of higher property taxes & higher utility bills.

You're diluting the issue. The carbon tax, combined with the increased business taxes, combined with the increased operating costs, combined with the increased property taxes is not business friendly. It will create a welfare state.

So if no one can afford anything businesses will raise their costs indefinitely to maintain their profits? And you think that will work? In your view there is no possibility of them reducing the prices of their goods and services to keep their business afloat? Because if I look around currently, a lot of things are a lot cheaper now than they were in boom times.

[puffnstuff]

Have you also noticed companies shedding staff to try to stay afloat?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

So if no one can afford anything businesses will raise their costs indefinitely to maintain their profits? And you think that will work? In your view there is no possibility of them reducing the prices of their goods and services to keep their business afloat? Because if I look around currently, a lot of things are a lot cheaper now than they were in boom times.

You're right about a lot of things being cheaper now than they were in boom times but those deceases have come at a great cost to employees. Employers are having to reduce their staffing levels by either reducing hours or through layoffs. Then there are businesses that have closed shop. It's no wonder we have the highest unemplyoment rates in the country.

Increased taxes and further minimum wage increases will only make things worse and not better.

[Dion]

The NDP's headlong rush to overhaul Alberta by 2019

The NDP’s broad goal is to reshape Alberta society and economics. This is to be done before the next election in 2019.

By that time, the province must be so thoroughly redesigned that the change can’t be undone no matter who wins.

Notley said exactly that in an interview a few months ago with author Sydney Sharpe and me, for a book we’ve written about the fall of the PCs and the rise of the NDP.

“We’re well underway with the climate-change leadership plan, so that no matter who wins, nobody is going to reverse that thing,” Notley said.

She hopes that by 2019, Albertans will conclude that New Democrats are capable people who listen to them and have the province’s best interests at heart. “That’s what I want to see,” she said.

But they’re determined to ensure that no new government can rescind the tax, reopen the coal mines, lift the cap on oilsands production, cut the minimum wage, or hand the electricity market back to private companies.

Such a headlong policy rush guarantees slips along the way. On Wednesday, for instance, the NDP abandoned their loony plan to pay parties 50 per cent of election expenses from the public treasury, as long as the party receives 10 per cent of the vote.

This was wildly unpopular in a deficit-ridden, recession-plagued province. The NDP has ended many of the worst features of Alberta political financing (union and corporate donations, for example) but this one was just too … ideological.

Also on Wednesday, the NDP apologized again for an egregious breach of legislature rules.

In summer, the government began broadcasting ads to promote the virtues of the carbon tax. But the legislature hadn’t yet voted approval of the tax. On Monday, Speaker Bob Wanner ruled that this was contempt of the legislature.

Wanner, like all legislature Speakers, is a member of the winning party. When the government loses a ruling like this, you know it’s an open-and-shut case of stupidity in the first degree.

The NDP apologized. Government house leader Brian Mason, who once excoriated the PCs for a similar offence, hilariously said: “We certainly take into account the Speaker’s rulings in adjusting our position in respect to these matters.”

The episode was embarrassing, but it also showed how eager the government is to imprint us, like ducklings, with images of the new Alberta.

http://calgaryherald.com/news/politi...lberta-by-2019

[Resolute 14]

Iggy oi, if you are so incapable of understanding a concept as simple as discretionary income, then please stop wasting my time with useless responses.

[Clarkey]

I am sick of the straw-man rhetoric that our 2 choices are the following:

1. Brutally fire tens of thousands nurses, teachers and public service or;

2. Keep them employed and give them small overdue raises.