Alberta Politics Thread

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Frank MetaMusil

Hey man, I'm a union guy. I've said it before, but it's like the twilight zone. I notice the attitude specifically with people who have been around a long time. Battle tested NDP voters for sure.

In the end it came down to, if you can't beat em, join em. The government is always hiring, they're never too bloated.

Whoa dude. Careful.

These people might kill you.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Whoa dude. Careful.

These people might kill you.

It's actually very advantageous to me personally. The wage hikes & CBA's keep pace with inflation so you don't lose any buying power. I didn't even take a pay cut coming from oil & gas.

I'd probably get lynched if I voiced that union employees should take a wage rollback though.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Delgar

It certainly pisses off the environmentalists.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Delgar

The true colours show through. Union guy, seniority matters in every agreement he has seen, merit, skill or price do not factor.

Um...was pointing out a fact that you appeared to be unaware of...and still seem to be denial about given your response. Also congratulations on cracking the code to figure out I'm a union supporter, I've been trying really really really hard to hide that fact...really hard

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Delgar

I'm only quoting this so he can't delete or change it. It's actually pure idiocy but I'll get to that when I have some time. I think just ensuring the post can't change is enough for posterity.

I have no intention of changing what I wrote. I hope that you actually follow through with a response to it this time though.

Originally Posted by Delgar

For now my only comment is "wow", but when I get time I'll post some counter points.

I even bumped that thread a few days later in the hopes that you would actually follow through with some sort of response, but to no avail. That was over a month ago now.

[Kjesse]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

I have no intention of changing what I wrote. I hope that you actually follow through with a response to it this time though.



I even bumped that thread a few days later in the hopes that you would actually follow through with some sort of response, but to no avail. That was over a month ago now.

Fair enough, I went back and read that huge post you made, that I said I was going to comment on, just now, and now that I understand the underpinnings -- you are fully bought in to the unionization movement, something that I didn't catch for some reason until your post last page. I should have seen it earlier. We will go around in circles until time ends, as, I'm a firm disbeliever in the union movement as it has become. It now actually impedes progress over time for society as a whole, over time. It had some worthwhile at a time, not now however.

That's not to say I think you or any other union member is a bad person for being in one. But 100% of the time I'd rather be on the side of making work happen than dictating that certain people do the work or else nobody works.

[Dion]

Heating or eating - a harsh reality for some Ontarians

The Ontario Government has suspended its latest round of renewable energy plans—a move that will save consumers money.

While this may be a step in the right direction, the Ontario government’s “green dreams” have already done a lot of damage in the province. A sombre CBC story tells of an elderly Ontario couple who now have to make the trade-off between heating and eating.

They are in their 80s, surviving on pension incomes, and live in a small two-bedroom bungalow. They use baseboard heaters and a wood stove. They try to conserve energy by using the BBQ for cooking and unplug everything they can. Despite these cost-saving measures, from January to August 2016, their hydro bills totalled $2,800 and they expect to spend about $4,300 by the end of the year. According to the CBC, these high costs have forced them to “cut down on entertainment and groceries—reducing fruits and vegetables and therefore not eating as well as they use to.”

One of the main reasons is Queens Park’s costly green energy programs. For example, thanks to the Green Energy Act, introduced in 2009, Ontarians now pay double the average American cost of wind and three-and-a-half times the average cost of solar power in the U.S. All told, according to figures from the Ontario’s auditor general, Ontarians stand to pay $9.2 billion more for renewables under the current 20-year Feed-In-Tariff contracts than under Ontario’s previous program of competitive renewable procurement.

Indeed, the disparity between what Ontarians pay for electricity versus the rest of Canada is found in data compiled by Manitoba Hydro. Based on estimates, an Ottawa family who consumes 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a month could expect a monthly electricity bill of roughly $165.

By comparison, a family with a similar level of consumption in Vancouver or Edmonton could expect a monthly bill of around $105. In Winnipeg, around $85. In Montreal, less than $75.

The higher costs in Ontario represent extra money many families don’t have. It’s also understandable why, with prices like these, that more people in Ontario are in energy poverty—a situation where households spend at least 10% of their household budgets on in-home energy use such as lights, appliances and heating—than in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba or Quebec.

http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/10/03...some-ontarians

[CaptainCrunch]

Kathleen Wynne combines corruption, stupidity and a lack of a firm grasp on reality that takes one's breath away.

I know talking to my sister, that their energy bills have gone through the roof even as they reduced consumption.

Its a shame that people bought into Wynne's garbage in the last election, and the Conservatives couldn't find a better leader.

.

[OMG!WTF!]

Well, at least a real world example of what not to do won't stop our geniuses' green energy plan. That's comforting.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Delgar

Fair enough, I went back and read that huge post you made, that I said I was going to comment on, just now, and now that I understand the underpinnings -- you are fully bought in to the unionization movement, something that I didn't catch for some reason until your post last page. I should have seen it earlier. We will go around in circles until time ends, as, I'm a firm disbeliever in the union movement as it has become. It now actually impedes progress over time for society as a whole, over time. It had some worthwhile at a time, not now however.

That's not to say I think you or any other union member is a bad person for being in one. But 100% of the time I'd rather be on the side of making work happen than dictating that certain people do the work or else nobody works.

So much opinion and assumption being passed off as fact in that post. I did get a bit of a chuckle out of your use of the classic unions are outdated and impede progress lines. Unions only helped to decrease the wealth gap and improve working conditions when things were bad, now that unionizing is on the decline and the gap is widening they serve no purpose. The statistics don't bring a lot of credibility to your claim.

[Fuzz]

Ontario is going to be in a real world of trouble when that nuke plant finally gives up the ghost. With their stupid rejection of natural gas, closing all the coal plants, they are going to have almost nothing for baseload. Not sure how much life is left in that thing, so they may have a few years to screw their head on straight.

[Slava]

Weird that a business is just passing along the increase to consumers...http://www.newstalk770.com/2016/10/0...sc_ref=twitter

[Fuzz]

I do find it a bit funny that they attempt to tie the percentage increase in minimum wage to the cost of the ticket increases(last point in the letter) as if their only cost is wages. Look! Our prices have gone up 5%(?) while our wage costs have gone up 29%! I'm not saying they don't have a point, just that it a is a little disingenuous to state it like that.

[puckedoff]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/carb...pact-1.3789224

In Alberta, where most homes are heated by natural gas, it will mean a significant increase. Under the current carbon plan, in 2018, there will be a tax of $1.51 a gigajoule. In October, the price charged to Albertans for natural gas heat was only $2.66 a gigajoule.

So by doubling the nat gas cost to heat our houses, this will reduce GHG's by reducing consumption? Anyone buying that? What are we supposed to do just layer up and turn off the furnace...?

[Fuzz]

Well, see, eventually it will be cheaper to build a mini hydro plant in your house. City water is pressurized, so maybe we could harvest that somehow. Then, you tear out your dirty gas furnace, and replace it with electric. Basic stuff, really.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Well, see, eventually it will be cheaper to build a mini hydro plant in your house. City water is pressurized, so maybe we could harvest that somehow. Then, you tear out your dirty gas furnace, and replace it with electric. Basic stuff, really.

Who's going to have money to do that. It won't be the middle class . . . . or the people that are just hanging up. The upper class will probably do that, but that isn't a significant number of people.

Beyond that, electricity prices will go up thanks to the tax, so we're back at square one.

[Fuzz]

I'll just go ahead and assume your sarcasm detector is severely damaged this morning, Captain. Might want to go get it re-calibrated.

[CaptainCrunch]

Hey i turned old today, I'm going in for training later on, the courses are

Effective yelling at teenagers

Effective phrases to use when describing Millennials

How do you know when your relatives are trying to kill you for your will

Pablum, and Applesauce in a can, 100 recipes that don't involve using a stove or oven.

[IliketoPuck]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Hey i turned old today, I'm going in for training later on, the courses are

Effective yelling at teenagers

Effective phrases to use when describing Millennials

How do you know when your relatives are trying to kill you for your will

Pablum, and Applesauce in a can, 100 recipes that don't involve using a stove or oven.

Also, "Adult diaper fashion - do's and don'ts"

[CaptainCrunch]

I chose the optional,

you and your 2:47 am pee break, learning to navigate to the bathrooms with the lights out