Alberta Politics & Government Thread 4.0

[Looch City]

So you want to live in a commune?

I think you've lost all of us here.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by puffnstuff

Its because you have to keep setting the goalposts up and then moving them, setting them up again, moving them...

At the same time, there is an incredible amount of energy derived from being the low info citizen with a victim complex.

When everything is always someone else’s fault, the bigger the dog in the righteous fight the more you get to feel accomplished just for saying you’re fighting it.

[DJones]

Originally Posted by Flacker

Cut taxes, and give away money that no longer exists? Makes no sense. Not worth discussing when basic math seems to be lost here.

Cut federal taxes 50% allows provinces and municipalities to increase taxes. People end up paying the same amount. It just goes to a different government.

This isn't complicated. You just give the money to a different government.

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by DJones

Cut federal taxes 50% allows provinces and municipalities to increase taxes. People end up paying the same amount. It just goes to a different government.

This isn't complicated. You just give the money to a different government.

So simple you couldn't communicate that properly the first time. You want to give the Alberta government more money to mismanage, and gatekeep from municipalities to push their own agenda?

Sounds like a stellar plan.

[DJones]

Originally Posted by Flacker

So simple you couldn't communicate that properly the first time. You want to give the Alberta government more money to mismanage, and gatekeep from municipalities to push their own agenda?

Sounds like a stellar plan.

I've said exactly what I want multiple times. People just can't seem to wrap their head around the idea that all of your taxes shouldn't go 3000km away to Ottawa for them to decide how to spend it. The thought of money staying local is apparently offensive to people.

And yes, that is the common response. "I do not trust my community/city/province to have the money, I want the Liberals in Ottawa to decide for us"

I obviously do not agree with that logic. Ottawa's or really any other provinces opinion is not relevant to how I want my tax dollars spent.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by DJones

Everything is artificial geopolitical lines. People attach their own values to those artificial lines.

Personally, I attach values on a basis of Family > Community > City >Area> Province > Region> country.

I honestly can't imagine seeing it any other way. People near you are more important than people further away and I naturally want decision making and tax revenue to remain as close as possible to me.

If Family is first, then before I break your brain, please list the locations of where they all live.

[DJones]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

If Family is first, then before I break your brain, please list the locations of where they all live.

I have family in pretty much every province except for the Maritimes.

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by DJones

I've said exactly what I want multiple times. People just can't seem to wrap their head around the idea that all of your taxes shouldn't go 3000km away to Ottawa for them to decide how to spend it. The thought of money staying local is apparently offensive to people.

And yes, that is the common response. "I do not trust my community/city/province to have the money, I want the Liberals in Ottawa to decide for us"

I obviously do not agree with that logic. Ottawa's or really any other provinces opinion is not relevant to how I want my tax dollars spent.

Unlike the grifters in Edmonton, they are bound by a publicly published, legally mandated formula

https://lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebs...ations/200820E

Again, read up

[Senator Clay Davis]

42 out of 188 posts so far for DJones in this thread is wild. Congrats on using all that liberty I guess.

[Geraldsh]

The Maritimes are not a province, why do you lump them together like that? They deserve their own identities, their own equalization’s.

[DJones]

Originally Posted by Flacker

Unlike the grifters in Edmonton, they are bound by a publicly published, legally mandated formula

https://lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebs...ations/200820E

Again, read up

Explain to me what I am supposed to take from that?

Yes, I am aware that equalization exists. I should just not think that taxes should be localized because equalization exists?

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by DJones

I have family in pretty much every province except for the Maritimes.

Ok, now ponder that for the next 24 hours and then get back to us.

[DJones]

Originally Posted by Geraldsh

The Maritimes are not a province, why do you lump them together like that? They deserve their own identities, their own equalization’s.

Are you actually upset that I used the term Maritimes to refer to the maritime provinces haha

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by DJones

Everything is artificial geopolitical lines. People attach their own values to those artificial lines.

Personally, I attach values on a basis of Family > Community > City >Area> Province > Region> country.

I honestly can't imagine seeing it any other way. People near you are more important than people further away and I naturally want decision making and tax revenue to remain as close as possible to me.

Why? I live in Calgary... A large multicultural city of 1.5M+ people. Frankly I think I have a lot more in common with people in Ottawa or Toronto or Vancouver then someone in Oyen. Your ranking system seems parochial and silly.

[Duruss]

Originally Posted by Parallex

Why? I live in Calgary... A large multicultural city of 1.5M+ people. Frankly I think I have a lot more in common with people in Ottawa or Toronto or Vancouver then someone in Oyen. Your ranking system seems parochial and silly.

I live in a small non ethically diverse town, and to be honest I miss the diversity of the city. Diversity has a lot of perks.

[undercoverbrother]

Does the D stand for Dickhead?

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Does the D stand for Dickhead?

We might have another Doctor on our hands.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by DJones

Yes, I wanted a net balance of what people pay vs what they get from the feds. In Canada that naturally follows provinces.

I posted the link above showing those numbers. Numbers are a bit dated and that was during a recession in Alberta so more recent numbers would be even worse if you can find them.

In a backward way what you are pointing out is how horrible the UCP is and how their constant need to fight the feds has caused Alberta to miss out on a large amount of money that other provinces are getting because they are aligned to implementing Federal programs when Alberta is not.

What we are learning is, aligning to the Federal programs gets you Federal dollars and taking dumb positions to fight the Feds over things that would make lives better for your citizens gets you less money.

Therefore, if Alberta would stop being so stupid and trying to prevent public education, daycare, healthcare, dental care, pharma care, etc. then we would get more money from the feds.

So now the UCP position is trying to get the Federal money with no strings attached because Smith wants to grift that money into her buddies instead of into programs that would help Albertans but the Feds are not interested in that at all. Thus, Alberta continues to get less money because our provincial government is literally turning the money away.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by Duruss

I live in a small non ethically diverse town, and to be honest I miss the diversity of the city. Diversity has a lot of perks.

Honestly it's pretty jarring. I've lived in a ~55% white neighbourhood for almost 15 years, and tried out a new athletic club yesterday. Literally the first time in months I've been in a room with less non-white people than I can count on one hand and it was, frankly, weird.

Like shopping at Sobey's at 11 AM on a Tuesday white

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by DJones

Yes, I wanted a net balance of what people pay vs what they get from the feds. In Canada that naturally follows provinces.

I posted the link above showing those numbers. Numbers are a bit dated and that was during a recession in Alberta so more recent numbers would be even worse if you can find them.

I already covered the first half of this for you:

Individual A earning $100k in Alberta pays $13,642 in federal tax leaving them $86,358 to cover their provincial, local, and personal liabilities.

Individual B earning $100k in BC pays $13,642 in federal tax leaving them $86,358 to cover their provincial, local, and personal liabilities.

Individual P earning $100k in PEI pays $13,642 in federal tax leaving them $86,358 to cover their provincial, local, and personal liabilities.

As for what we get back as individuals, it is again pretty much identical to my T4 counterpart in 8 other provinces. I get the same GST rebates, same access to a passport office, same access to an embassy/consulate when abroad, same access to safe food and drugs, same protections under the constitution (at least the ones my province doesn't tread on).

I also pay the same fee to enter any given National Park as any other Canadian. Though it is a little unfair that PEIrs have such easy access to all 27 sq km of PEI National Park, while I have to settle for backwaters like Banff and Jasper and Waterton. Unfair!

My city got the same access to public transit funding as other cities. Unfortunately my city has bungled that.

However, I didn't really benefit when the federal government facilitated a P3 to build a bridge between some little island province and the mainland, and now the feds provides ongoing subsidies to keep tolls reasonable. Unfair!

All the feds did for my province was use $4.5B in pocket change from the couch to buy a pipeline project. And then another measly $30B or so to get it built. Which was nice I guess, but when are they going to do something that REALLY benefits Alberta and Albertans?!?!