Alberta #Kudatah

[FarmRanger]

With a voter turnout hovering around 50%, that means your 15% may be as high as 30% ov the votes. In addition, the Alberta gov't has added 47,000 government jobs to the payroll at a time when the private sector is bleeding massive layoffs. There is only one party that campaigns on a platform to strrengthen union powers, and adding 47,000 public servants to AUPE will only benefit the NDP.
Not only that, but who doea the public sector union bosses negotiate with for therir compensation packages? You guessed it, the NDP. So we have the situation where the NDP and the AUPE are on the same side negotiating how much their friends who helped get them elected get paid, and no one is there the behalf of taxpayers who don't have a seat at the table.

The fox is truly in charge of the henhouse, and the slaughter has been brutal.
I'm not saying i agree, but tthat is why it's not such a far fetched idea to restrict the the rights to vote for public sector unions. There is a real incentive to greatly increase the size and cost of government for the benefit of "union friendly governments". We can't afford it economically, nor democratically through the vastly increased power given to public sector unions. Adding 47,000 public sector jobs in a time of devastation to our economy is just a symptom of this.

Always remember that gov't doesn't create wealth, but they can sure consume it, and create policies that make it more difficult for the rest of us to create it (Bill 6). I'm afraid the remaining Alberta taxpayers are going to get devoured to feed this ever growing beast, and there's still over 3 years left of it. Sigh.

[Hamloc]

Premier Notley has stated that 60% of Albertans paying the proposed carbon tax will recieve rebates. Now is this vote buying or income redistribution or both? And if you rebate 60% of it what effect does it have on changing our use of carbon based energy?

[fjlip]

But has to REALLY hurt the other 40% that don't vote for her. Totally dumb idea, why not a carrot instead of a stick beating consumers into change? If it makes sense, smart people will change. This must not make sense...

[foragefarmer]

Farmranger Hamloc

Alberta had 44 years of PC government and you both have done move complaining in 8 months about the current NDP government than the entire 44 years the PC government was in power. You both seem to have forgotten that many mistakes were made by the PC governments of Alberta prior to the NDP government taking over. Do you not remember Stelmach, Redford and Prentice?

It all boils down to one issue, you can't except that the party you support is no longer in power. That applies federally as well,as many comments made on here resonate from the Harper Con/Reform ideologies.

[grassfarmer]

I guess it's a symptom of having a one-party state for too long. Large segments of the electorate don't seem to have an idea of what democracy is or how it is supposed to work. The losing side trying to overthrow the majority Government duly elected by the people of Alberta. When that crazy plan descends into chaos and ridicule you start talking about removing the right to vote from certain segments of the electorate based on their career choice. What next ? removing the vote from women because you don't think Notley is fit to govern? excluding those with different religious views?
In the same week you complain of alleged threat to the freedom of speech you are advocating taking the vote away from other Albertans?

[Hamloc]

Forage Grassfarmer, I never said anything about removing people's right to vote. Do you believe a carbon tax that is rebated to 60% of payee's will work?

[perfecho]

Will work a out as well as the rebates and tax conssesions that went back to the oilfield after they did or didn't pay their royalties... Some years that exceeded the royalties collected...

[Hamloc]

True enough but two wrongs don't make a right. Latest report by the International Energy Agency predicts by 2021 Growth in Canadian oil production will be zero. Most jobs are in construction and exploration in the oil patch. There is going to be no return to prosperity for oil workers. This is what government policy needs to address. Just like manufacturing jobs in Ontario I believe many oil jobs in the west are gone for good. We can all bang our partisan drums but in the end it is just noise!

[perfecho]

And maybe prosperity shouldn't return to the oilfield...at least not to the level it was.
There were many wrongs leading up to this...we concentrated too much on oilfield, forgot that technology and world supplies may effect oil prices...the carbon thing...likely it is a good call that they are doing something about it, because believe in carbon footprint or not, the majority of the world does and at least we are seen as doing something and not just opening the flood gates to make money.
We did not work out a "made in Canada" agreement that would have seen Canada use our oil, for the betterment of all of Canada, keep more jobs here, and even out the highs and lows that we all know is a problem. We screwed up on not creating processing here...fuel prices have not fallen at the same rate as crude..an opportunity that we lost.
It's not the ND's fault world crude prices have fallen so hard and heavy, but it is the previous government's fault it hurts as much as it does..and that just goes back to us...we loved wallowing in the good times as much as any....
Again, the ND's aren't the answer, but they are still better than the previous corruption... some good will come...some not so good ( I am still paying outrages electrical bills thanks to Ralph)...and we can review that in another few years....

[FarmRanger]

It's an ill wind that blows no good. The PCs needed a healthy dose of reality, and Albertans needed to understand just how bad a socialist government would be. It's like a kid, sometimes you can tell them, sometimes they need to touch the hot stove and learn for themselves.
At first I thought the Alberta NDs might hold off on some of the wackier stuff because "it's like Alberta". Unfortunately it turned out that they were just delaying until after their masters finished the federal elections.

I fear for how much more we're going to get burned before the next election can flush the bowl out again.