Oil field stigma

[Horse]

horse, doesn't your county pull shoulders on roads that get pounded out ?

As for having all the things we do without the oil revenue, I guess you would need to ask businessmen in your community, Whitecourt, Mayerthorpe, and many other places. Are they selling more vehicles, are hotels and motels and retaurants doing a larger volume of business, are people buying houses etc.

If you can't see any benefit to Albertans from the resources we have, then certainly you have your right to that opinion.

You may feel that your local hospital hasn't been enhanced by provincial dollars but you cannot deny that we have state of the art hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary, as well as cancer clinics that are as good as any. These things were made possible by huge injections of provincial money....maybe it came from farmland assessment, but I doubt it. I know that the $1200 I pay on my home quarter is about what it costs to maintain the road along it for one year.

[cowman]

Well Horse, we might have them, oil revenue or not? I don't know. Do other provinces...I assume they do?
Personally I would like to see all oil and gas revenue go to the people of Alberta and let taxation take care of the roads, hospitals, schools etc.? I mean it is our oil and gas, not the beurocrats?

[cowman]

It could be done cowman, if the government could say NO to frills eg: huge sports complexes in every whistle stop in the province.
The funding that the province injects into these would go a long way toward education, roads, health care etc., but because people want the soft services some of the cost must come from the taxpayer.

[Horse]

Emerald you have got to be a spin dr for someone, I never said that albertians dont benifit I said the farmers dont benefit and yes they pull some sholders and make a hell of a mess for the yr it is done and no the companys wrecking the roads dont pay for that they grade and mabey sprinkle a little gravel and that is it.
I still say we will be here after the oil is gone and somehow we will have services.

[Horse]

horse this may come as a surprise to you but farmers are ALBERTANS too !!! We all receive some benefit from the oil industry whether or not we want to admit it.
You have your mind made up, and I think differently. I have never been accused of being a spin doctor horse, I just try and be fair and give credit where its due, and speak out against things I feel are wrong.

Of course your road will be rough for the year after the shoulders are pulled but it usually packs down and is a fairly stable road after time.