Alberta to have $11.6 Billion surplus

[Azure]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Anyone know how much it costs to pave 684 sq.km?

A bunch of pissed off environmentalists?

[guzzy]

Originally Posted by Ghost in the attic

Largest surplus ever PRE-royalty hike. Good thing they raised royalites to 50% for 2009. Lets drive that investment out of the province!!

Way to go stelmach, you tool.

Speaking of tools, what makes you think investment in the oilsands is decreasing regardless of Stelmach's hikes.

THere is more investment than ever and it will only continue as the price rises. No one has pulled any money. Petro-Canada is still moving full steam ahead on their $18 billion open pit mine. They could have pulled the plug but unlike some complaining plugs in this province they have the ability to look past the energy companies posturing and realize how much money there still is to be made.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by guzzy

How about the arts subsidize the arts instead of the govt. How many of these artists "give back" once they strike it rich. I feel if you want to do paintings, or sit on a street corner and make music, that is a choice you make and you get paid accordingly. I despise the thought of 12 hour waiting times in ER rooms......but we are subsidizing artists. No thank you

Agreed.

And I am a starving artist.

Basically, my attitude is simple. Artists who are actually good don't need subsidies. Making a living off art requires entrepreneurial skills every bit as much as artistic ability.

Don't have both, and sorry, you don't make it!

And no, just having a degree in music doesn't mean you're good.

[MelBridgeman]

With regards to the Arts...It was pretty easy for my buddies band a few years back to get a grant of $2000 from the Alberta Arts Council.

What did they do with it? Made 500 buttons to give to the emo kids.
The rest was used for beer.

If anything maybe we should be looking at making sure what money is there for the "arts" is used correctly.

And i agree with others, if you are an artist and you are good, you don't need handouts

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by Azure

A bunch of pissed off environmentalists?

I was thinking of paving over "Oil Country" with what else... oil! Basically replacing it on the map with a big parking lot, because that would look better than the grey dirty dreary place that Edmonton is.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

I was thinking of paving over "Oil Country" with what else... oil! Basically replacing it on the map with a big parking lot, because that would look better than the grey dirty dreary place that Edmonton is.

I approve of this message.

[MoneyGuy]

There are a couple very good financial advisors who hang out on this site. I suggest that we be hired to manage all of this money.

[FlamesAddiction]

Alberta should save it up and then buy something really large, like the Panama Canal, a Carribean Island, or PEI.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Alberta should save it up and then buy something really large, like the Panama Canal, a Carribean Island, or PEI.

King Ralph Island? KRI?

[Azure]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Alberta should save it up and then buy something really large, like the Panama Canal, a Carribean Island, or PEI.

Texas?

I here the Americans could use the money. Plus, it'd be really cool to own Texas.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by fotze

Oilkiller couldn't be here to post this retort to this post so I will do it in his absence:

Give the rolling eyes to someone that hasn't lived there and said that... I did my time.

[Tron_fdc]

Why not just make Alberta into an island? Build a big effin lake all the way around, sell off the lakefront properties, then pave the bastid. The whole damn province. Pave it all. No more traffic....you could just drive ANYWHERE.

How sweet would that be?

Oh yeah, hire an artist to paint a mural on the mountains after you pave them.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

A new hockey arena for Edmonton and Calgary... and you'd still have $10.6 billion left over!

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Why not just make Alberta into an island? Build a big effin lake all the way around, sell off the lakefront properties, then pave the bastid. The whole damn province. Pave it all. No more traffic....you could just drive ANYWHERE.

How sweet would that be?

Oh yeah, hire an artist to paint a mural on the mountains after you pave them.

Could you imagine what 4X4 would be like then? First there would be no off-roading... second, people would always be in his way with no lanes. It would be the end of 4X4 as we know it.

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Could you imagine what 4X4 would be like then? First there would be no off-roading... second, people would always be in his way with no lanes. It would be the end of 4X4 as we know it.

Yeah, but he could put low profile tires on his Jimmy, and climb Mt Rundle. Nothing like climbin' with some spinners on your rims.....

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by guzzy

How about the arts subsidize the arts instead of the govt. How many of these artists "give back" once they strike it rich. I feel if you want to do paintings, or sit on a street corner and make music, that is a choice you make and you get paid accordingly. I despise the thought of 12 hour waiting times in ER rooms......but we are subsidizing artists. No thank you

Disagree completely. Again, I refer to the Ireland example, where, since 1968, the Artists Council of Ireland has produced thousands of Irish artists, including painters, sculptors, musicians, and so on. Irish bands like U2, Enya, the Cranberries, and others have taken advantage of, and blossomed from the Arts Council funding. Their international success has put Ireland on the map for quality artists, and as such, has spilled over into other industries as well, such as music production and tourism.

Furthermore, the Arts Council doesn't allow just any no-talent hack to get a grant; their is an application and an approval process. Depending on how much your looking for, what type of art you are creating, and what it's purpose is, you can receive a level of funding. In fact, many artists must submit a portfolio of work before they can be considered for funding; some 14 year old kid who wants to smash bricks on a tile floor and call it a masterpiece is not going to qualify.

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

U2, Enya, the Cranberries,

Yeah, well Nickelback, Shania Twain, Celine Dion and the Bare naked Ladies did it with the existing system.

So there.

In other words, if we spend a bunch of cash to produce the next multi platinum POS band like Nickelback I'm moving to Saskatchewan.



PAVE PAVE PAVE!!!

[Gozer]

Thumbs down to arts funding. I don't see art as more worthwhile than authors books, making movies, or making music. If you aren't good enough at what you do to make a living in Calgary (read: disposable income abound) - then tough bananas.

Stabbing in the dark here, but any transfer money of Alberta's going toward Quebec subsidizing art pisses me off too.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by guzzy

How about the arts subsidize the arts instead of the govt. How many of these artists "give back" once they strike it rich. I feel if you want to do paintings, or sit on a street corner and make music, that is a choice you make and you get paid accordingly. I despise the thought of 12 hour waiting times in ER rooms......but we are subsidizing artists. No thank you

I agree 100% that artists are paid accordingly, based on what the market dictates. Here's the thing though: right now, the state of the market is that just about every other provincial government in Canada is paying more to artists than Alberta. And thus, the market dictates that artists are going to choose not to move to Alberta to pursue their art, and many who live here will likely leave for communities where the grants are better and where there are more artists in general. If Alberta wants to retain their artists, they need to step up and increase funding. As artists, we aren't demanding handouts, we're simply stating what the markets for our services are, and expressing our intention to go where the market dictates.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Disagree completely. Again, I refer to the Ireland example, where, since 1968, the Artists Council of Ireland has produced thousands of Irish artists, including painters, sculptors, musicians, and so on. Irish bands like U2, Enya, the Cranberries, and others have taken advantage of, and blossomed from the Arts Council funding. Their international success has put Ireland on the map for quality artists, and as such, has spilled over into other industries as well, such as music production and tourism.

While ignoring the fact that in Dublin alone 10,000 people shoot heroin daily and MDMA (ecstacy) is so rampant that children as young as 10 are being treated in detox.

Furthermore, the Arts Council doesn't allow just any no-talent hack to get a grant; their is an application and an approval process. Depending on how much your looking for, what type of art you are creating, and what it's purpose is, you can receive a level of funding. In fact, many artists must submit a portfolio of work before they can be considered for funding; some 14 year old kid who wants to smash bricks on a tile floor and call it a masterpiece is not going to qualify.

What do you think of that guy from Montreal a few years back who got 12,000 dollars to put on an exhibit which included him drinking blood through a hose out of his own anus?