Forage, My Answer on Alberta's debt

[Hamloc]

From 1994 to fiscal year end 2008 Alberta posted 14 consecutive surpluses with west Texus crude averaging 43 usd Then from 2008 to present Alberta had deficits in all years but one with west Texas averaging 88 usd. From 2004 to present government spending has increased by 104%, during that same time frame population growth and inflation combined increased 56% and total economic output only grew 72%. So the short answer to your question is the government spent to much money.

Now I have no doubt left of center will yell the royalties were too low, that we gave away our resources. I think if higher royalties had resulted in more controlled developement pace resulting in a smaller influx of outside workers it would have reduced some financial pressures absolutely. Would it have eliminated deficits? I doubt it but I don't know. Until Albertan's pull their heads out of their asses and realize that they receive the majority of the benefits from government and that they should pay for them nothing will change. Unfortunately we need a sales tax or we need to drastically change our expectations of what we recieve.

One final thought, the NDP go on and on about diversification but Joe Cici has said until the price of oil recovers the budget can't balance, so nothing has really changed!!

[wilagro]

The AB government under Getty, Klein and all the Premiers who followed them spent and wasted billions lobbying for BUSINESS through trade offices, trade missions, trips to Washington D.C. pushing for pipelines, promotion of tourism including the Olympic Games promotions and perks for the MLAs at those games and you wonder where the money went?????

Go back and read the old Edmonton Journals of the "write-offs" of government loans to big business...the Husky Oil deal, the pulp-mill deals, the waste-disposal deals etc....billions wasted. The Heritage Trust Fund debacles where billions were wasted through BAD investments or loans low-balled to other provinces.

Alberta had a plethora of carpet-baggers after Lougheed left the scene and they had the government's ear and co-operation in fleecing all they could.

Our government backed or encouraged people like Peter Pocklington, the people in the Principal Trust debacle and a good many other "friends of government"...many of whom fleeced the government or the citizenry.
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Note: I see that our present government is making big mistakes already. We should be getting our electricity production, distribution and pricing problems that the PCs caused corrected.
Instead they are off on a tangent trying to fix climate change through expensive carbon tax tinkering and more money wasting carbon sequestering schemes.

[TOM4CWB]

Hamloc

Premier Stelmach saved $20B in the rainy day fund... that the AB gov needed and started spending in 2009.

This 20B$ kept the AB debt in check till 2013-14... after Premier Stelmach was deposed... Premier Stelmach was much like Premier Wall.

Being sensible and using common sense is seldom rewarded... in politics... as the common people do not grab news headlines... and don't go for expensive special interest left wing projects.

Premier Stelmach was not perfect by any stretch... but was not a history news maker... because he cared for common people... because he was a farmer.

Happy New Year!

[seabass]

Well said Tom. Ed was exactly as u say. Believed in running things like he ran his own business. Down to earth.