Alberta PC's way out front

[GP_Matt]

I don't disagree that you have to be competitive to attract people, but one of the problems with the salary increase has been the number of management positions created. I think the average on the government payroll is one manager for every four employees.
100% over 10 years is a little better than 7% a year though. That just seems excessive.

Looking at last years budget, revenue in 2001 was about 22 billion and in 2011 it was predicted to be $35.6 billion. I don't understand how they managed create a deficit under those conditions. The answer of course is that they spent to their limit every year and cut nothing when revenue dropped in 2008.

As for the royalty issue, according to the budget http://www.finance.alberta.ca/public...an-revenue.pdf they intend to collect ~1 billion from natural gas royalty, 2 from crude, 1 from land sales and 4 from bitumen royalty. The increase in bitumen royalties has offset the drop in natural gas royalties. The stars shouldn't have to align for the government to balance the budget.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

I don't disagree that you have to be competitive to attract people, but one of the problems with the salary increase has been the number of management positions created. I think the average on the government payroll is one manager for every four employees.
100% over 10 years is a little better than 7% a year though. That just seems excessive.

Looking at last years budget, revenue in 2001 was about 22 billion and in 2011 it was predicted to be $35.6 billion. I don't understand how they managed create a deficit under those conditions. The answer of course is that they spent to their limit every year and cut nothing when revenue dropped in 2008.

As for the royalty issue, according to the budget http://www.finance.alberta.ca/public...an-revenue.pdf they intend to collect ~1 billion from natural gas royalty, 2 from crude, 1 from land sales and 4 from bitumen royalty. The increase in bitumen royalties has offset the drop in natural gas royalties. The stars shouldn't have to align for the government to balance the budget.

The public service has actually cut jobs though (by about 3000) and wages have risen. Its just the nature of a province that is very fortunate.

I also think that the notion of a deficit is a little overblown in the media; its really not a big deal. Its a miniscule debt in the grand scheme of things and with the past few years not something to be concerned with.

[GP_Matt]

I agree that a deficit isn't the end of the world in tough times if you run a surplus in good times. But when the government starts mulling over things like a a sales tax, or significant increases to user fees I get worried.

I think the problem with the P.C.'s is that they have always moved to the left to deter their left leaning voters from going to the Liberals and NDP. A stronger party on the right might pull them back.

[Jacks]

Well Snelgrove just resigned.

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loc...ub=CalgaryHome

[spotthefan]

As a public sector worker I feel I am adequately payed in comparison to private sector in Alberta. The teaching profession wage increase is managed by the AWEI which is a blessing and a curse. To have long term sustainable funding it needs to be predictable, but it is also a measurement based on the average income in Alberta.

Loong at Canadian public sector wages is misleading. People in PEI, Manitoba, Ontario are not paid as much because the cost of living in those provinces (minus GTA) are much lower.

While I support the ATA I don't support all the positions it takes at times. However it is hard to trust in government, especially after Klien. He promised teachers would keep jobs in 90s if they submitted to a rollback but then cut jobs.

[Slava]

Snelgrove was also meeting with Danielle Smith today. How will they ever bridge the gap between the old Tories beliefs and this brand-new, totally different Wildrose Party?

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Slava

Snelgrove was also meeting with Danielle Smith today. How will they ever bridge the gap between the old Tories beliefs and this brand-new, totally different Wildrose Party?

I understand some of them trying to "change from within" and when they realize it is futile, they come over to the Wildrose....

But personally, I would be very leery of any of them (especially high profile ones) doing at this late a date, on the eve of an election.

[Slava]

Nice try! When you have attack ads about Redford "sitting at the table" and then can't wait to meet Snelgrove its too obvious. Wildrose, Tory, same old story (kudos to Preston and the Reform Party for the turn of phrase)

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Slava

Nice try! When you have attack ads about Redford "sitting at the table" and then can't wait to meet Snelgrove its too obvious. Wildrose, Tory, same old story (kudos to Preston and the Reform Party for the turn of phrase)

hey don't look at me, I was never a Tory. Though I don't think that matters.

People change. There are very few people who vote for the same party their entire lives. And for those who are "active" members I think its even more likely that they change over time. One of the reasons Alberta sprouts new parties all the time.

[Slava]

Fair enough, I just find it amusing that the Wildrose is running on a platform of change and how bad the Tories have been. Then you look and 3/4 sitting MLAs were Tories, and now the old finance minister (and a Stelmach supporter) leaves and the Wildrose is all over him.

[Dion]

The Wildrose peaked too soon.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Dion

The Wildrose peaked too soon.

Not really. People just set unrealistic expectations.

The Calgary-Glenmore byelection and Wildrose's leadership convention came at a time when dissent over Stelmach was peaking. It was a perfect storm that allowed them to rapidly grow from a fringe party in the last election to enjoy a brief period where they led the Tories in the polls. But while the Wildrose got the leadership convention bump then, it was inevitable that the PCs would get the same at their convention.

For this election, I suspect most people who pay even moderate attention would have expected that opposition party was the realistic expectation for the Wildrose. And they are polling in a position where that is realistic. The party is polling at 3-5x what their share of the 2008 vote was. If they can hold that, or even improve into this election, then they will establish themselves as a legitimate political force, as opposed to that half-wonderment on whether they were just a protest.

[killer_carlson]

I think the Wildrose will still do very well. They peaked early, but it isn't like they are going away. They are trying to outflank the PCs from the fiscal right, which is the only chance a party will have to form government.

Snelgrove won't go to the Wildrose and they won't take him. He's better sitting as an independant and lobbing grenades at Redford, which I suspect he'll gladly do. He may endorse a bunch of wildrose policies though. The meeting with Smith, I suspect at least, was about trying to get some volunteers over.

It would be a BIG mistake to characterize the Wildrose support as ignorant hicks - it isn't. That's a tried and tested elitist liberal tactic to excuse the fact that overspending on social programs is a problem when you don't have the money to spend.

Where the Wildrose will suffer is in Edmonton. The party has done a real bad job up here, which is too bad, because a handful of the candidates up here had a good shot if there had been more inclusion from the beginning. Policy announcements should have been made here with the candidates getting notice. Candidates up here should have more opportunity to provide input on policy, which they are not getting. The Wildrose has earned the criticism in Edmonton.

They will have a lot of work to do to challenge for some seats up here, but there is still time to fix it. Hopefully there is a pretty frank discussion next week about how to get edmonton more engaged instead of the feeling of disconnect. There are too many seats and votes here to ignore.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

It would be a BIG mistake to characterize the Wildrose support as ignorant hicks - it isn't. That's a tried and tested elitist liberal tactic to excuse the fact that overspending on social programs is a problem when you don't have the money to spend.

Oh irony, I never tire of thee.

[Jacks]

Let's not forget about the little details like the campaign and the debates. I'm guessing that Smith will be a formidable opponent, good luck trying to paint her as an extremist.

[Slava]

I think that she'll do well. The thing is the PCs cut a wide swath so just to differentiate the other parties are forced to take some extreme positions. If they didn't then they would be agreeing more often than not.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

I agree that a deficit isn't the end of the world in tough times if you run a surplus in good times. But when the government starts mulling over things like a a sales tax, or significant increases to user fees I get worried.

I think the problem with the P.C.'s is that they have always moved to the left to deter their left leaning voters from going to the Liberals and NDP. A stronger party on the right might pull them back.

They should have a sales tax. Offset it with cuts to other taxes.

I don't get why people get so worked up about it. Its the most effective way to tax people.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Slava

I think that she'll do well. The thing is the PCs cut a wide swath so just to differentiate the other parties are forced to take some extreme positions. If they didn't then they would be agreeing more often than not.

How is fiscal restraint an extreme position?

The whole crazy extreme right wing moron schtick is getting old.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Azure

How is fiscal restraint an extreme position?

The whole crazy extreme right wing moron schtick is getting old.

It isn't necessarily an extreme position, but it certainly can be. For example, a pledge to cut all government spending by 50% would clearly be an extreme position (not saying of course that the Wildrose Party is proposing such, just using it as an example.)

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by Slava

I also think that the notion of a deficit is a little overblown in the media; its really not a big deal. Its a miniscule debt in the grand scheme of things and with the past few years not something to be concerned with.

I agree with the idea that it's a "Little Debt" (and I'm not personally concerned about it).

Given what it took to eliminate our debt the last time, spending a penny more than we earn deserves to get a ton of attention. I think it shows that we learned (some) lessons during the Klein years.