That budget was an absolute disgrace to anyone who considers themselves to be on the right side of the political spectrum.
A completely gutless move from a government that is a picture perfect for our debt ridden society.
No vision or anything, just the age old alberta tactic of lets close our eyes and hope commodity prices rise.
Its embarasing really. I am not a fan of Smith as I prefer the Devil I know rather the one I dont but anything is better than setting the budget on cruise control while heading towards a cliff.
What's your vision?
__________________
If you don't pass this sig to ten of your friends, you will become an Oilers fan.
We are at the point where cuts are not what's needed to balance the budget. There needs to be intense structural changes that streamline government services where they are more effective and efficiently able to serve Albertans promptly.
We are chucking money into a bottomless pit right now.
Give me $150K a year to come up with one and I will.
Alberta should NEVER run a deficit with the exception of infrastructure spending roads/rails/schools/university/hospitals etc.
To run a deficit with such such a relatively low capital expenditures is just short sighted. Its not just this budget but this is the icing on the top of the dogshat ridden cake.
It will be interesting to compare Alberta's budget to that of Sask and BC which should be on either spectrum of the budget. Both of which have significant resource revenue.
~$10500/citizen seems like alot to spend when you dont have the money to spend.
Its even more peculiar cause the PC's likely could have gotten away with huge hatchet cuts this year and the bs budget next year for the election.
Also, just say no to health care premiums else give me a choice where to get I get my medical care from instead of just the government.
__________________
MYK - Supports Arizona to democtratically pass laws for the state of Arizona
Rudy was the only hope in 08
2011 Election: Cons 40% - Nanos 38% Ekos 34%
^I'm not thrilled with the throwing money into a bottomless pit and I do think that is what is happening here.
I don't have a real problem with the deficit though. Sometimes it's good business sense to finance things. I'm not saying that is what is taking place here, it's just that saying we'll never borrow money has less to do with being fiscally prudent and more to do with ideology.
We are at the point where cuts are not what's needed to balance the budget. There needs to be intense structural changes that streamline government services where they are more effective and efficiently able to serve Albertans promptly.
We are chucking money into a bottomless pit right now.
Considering the morass of services they provide, yeah, I suppose so. What do you figure? 10% off the top?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mykalberta
Give me $150K a year to come up with one and I will.
Alberta should NEVER run a deficit with the exception of infrastructure spending roads/rails/schools/university/hospitals etc.
This is ridiculous. Where do you get operations money then?
Quote:
Also, just say no to health care premiums else give me a choice where to get I get my medical care from instead of just the government.
You do have a choice. When did that stop?
__________________
If you don't pass this sig to ten of your friends, you will become an Oilers fan.
The way our health system is organized, the majority of AHW budget goes to the regions, which provides services to Albertans. However, we restructured the regions to 1, AHS.
So yes, it appears that 7 billion of 15 billion is going to administration, but AHS takes that money and uses that to provide health care all over Alberta including Hospitals, health providers, supplies, equipment...etc
There will always be admin costs, and it's arguable whether they are higher or lower. However compared to other OECD countries, Alberta is line with it's health spending with other top health countries in the world
__________________
The Following User Says Thank You to LChoy For This Useful Post:
I don't have a problem with spending 40% of the budget on health care. But I do have a problem with spending 40% of the budget on health care and simply ignoring the growing problems that is forcing us to pay more and more each year.
^I'm not thrilled with the throwing money into a bottomless pit and I do think that is what is happening here.
I don't have a real problem with the deficit though. Sometimes it's good business sense to finance things. I'm not saying that is what is taking place here, it's just that saying we'll never borrow money has less to do with being fiscally prudent and more to do with ideology.
The deficit isn't the problem at all. If resources keep rebounding, which they are, we'll be fine in a few years.
The problem is that its a lot easier to just throw money at something. Is there any effort being made to streamline health care services? To improve facilities? Are we looking at adopting the more successful style of care in Europe? Maybe pick up a few things from them? No.
Excuse me if I'm the only one who believes that a public health care system can be efficient and that it doesn't need to bleed money in order to be successful.
All of these people sound like people who've never dealt with private insurers for coverage!
And you sound like someone who loves to look at the US and scream bloody murder everytime someone mentions private health care because THEIR system is so screwed up.
The deficit isn't the problem at all. If resources keep rebounding, which they are, we'll be fine in a few years.
The problem is that its a lot easier to just throw money at something. Is there any effort being made to streamline health care services? To improve facilities? Are we looking at adopting the more successful style of care in Europe? Maybe pick up a few things from them? No.
Excuse me if I'm the only one who believes that a public health care system can be efficient and that it doesn't need to bleed money in order to be successful.
Yes, at least that's what most of my projects I'm currently working on are about
at least in my area - Primary Health Care
Albertans are a funny lot. They want everything but not pay for any of it. I wonder how many people here would've been okay with a large personal income tax increase to cover the deficit.
Your province, your money. Isn't that supposed to be the right-wing mantra?
__________________
If you don't pass this sig to ten of your friends, you will become an Oilers fan.
Albertans are a funny lot. They want everything but not pay for any of it. I wonder how many people here would've been okay with a large personal income tax increase to cover the deficit.
Your province, your money. Isn't that supposed to be the right-wing mantra?
The deficit is being covered by the money we laid away over the years.
Albertans are a funny lot. They want everything but not pay for any of it. I wonder how many people here would've been okay with a large personal income tax increase to cover the deficit.
Your province, your money. Isn't that supposed to be the right-wing mantra?
If there was a nice linear continuum of more money spent = More and better services that are valued by the population then this post would be a nice criticism of Albertans who are annoyed with increasing spending but also want good services.
Bottom line is the province is already spending on an unreasonable scale without seeing a resultant benefit of greater services or quality of services compared to other provinces. A 5.6% increase in spending on top of that in a year when inflation has been the lowest in quite some time is unacceptable. I don't think it would be unreasonable to suggest that in the long run the government should be able to provide the same level of service for less money than today (inflation/population adjusted of course).
As a few people have mentioned, some of it is a pay now vs pay later debate, which I believe is part of the reason we are in this mess to begin with.
Infrastructure was ignored for so long, it got impossible to deal with smartly. As well, we ended up paying for it at a time when it costs were higher, so really did we save any money by not paying interest? Probably not, or at least, not enough to really make a difference. We just wasted time.
As others have mentioned, sometimes you NEED to run a deficit.
As for the spending on health care, well I am happy that there is money headed in that direction, I am also concerned about the way it's spent. However I do admit I don't know much about the subject, so I have no way of knowing if my concerns are founded. I just feel like the system is not good right now, and we seem to be paying a lot into it. IE, we're not getting bang for our buck so to speak.
I do believe we need to look at new ways of managing and paying for health care. As mentioned, there are systems in Europe that seem to make more sense and should be able to be adopted here. I read an article last year published by one of the federal Liberals making examples on this very point.
I think we need a top down (bottom up?) change. Not just restructuring, but in philosophy. Not just the administration, but the whole system. How we look at it, how we use it, how we pay for it, and how we prioritize it (and us into it).
Course, as I mentioned, I am not that knowledgable on the subject, and am short on ideas right now. I've read a few articles that had me nodding, but not much stuck with me I'm afraid.
