Benchmarking

[Deb]

Thank you Cakadu! You are right on! Yes, we need to boot out the present oligopoly. We need a change desperately.

[rodbradshaw]

Since when did the magic age of 65 mean that you become a ward of the state? There are people out there that are in their seventies and go to work every day. I know as I have two in my organization. The other thing is there are income thresholds, it is over 18000 for a single or 27000 per couple. Thats equivalent to $9.50 an hour wage for the average working stiff. I know of lots of people that work for less than this and don't cry when their government handout is reduced.

As long as we are going to keep antiing up for higher and higher Health Care and Education costs we are going to have to keep cutting things like roads, police, enviroment and other things, you make the choice.

The other thing is check into what it costs to live in either of the provinces or for that matter any of the other provinces in Canada. If you want to pack your bag and go to the US you might have a reason to complain about Alberta but it is still the best place in Canada to live.

[cowman]

You are sure right about the age thing Rod. My mother is 80 and because she has some money and income the government claws back all her old age pension and the pension she gets because my dad got shot up so bad in the war. On top of that she has to pay income tax every three months. She just goes wild if you mention anything about the government!!Says all the bums who sat in the bar all their life are on the government tit while she pays for it! If you think I am some kind of old red neck you should see this old girl!!
I notice that while everyone was getting hammered in the last Alta. budget, health care got another $458 million, teachers got a lot more(we'll probably really find out when we get this years land taxes), and the politicians were good to themselves(and I noticed they all voted for it but the NDP, and they "reluctantly" accepted the will of the majority?). Roads and infrastructure got cut as well as agriculture big time!
So I hope you ladies tell your MLA to get those damned doctors, nurses and teachers under control, while you are giving him hell about his own salary!!!

[Deb]

We don't have a spending problem, we have a revenue problem and we are getting ripped off by thos oil and gas companies!!!

Our royalty and taxation rates in the oil and gas industries have dropped since Peter Lougheed was premier. There would be no financial crisis if the oil and gas industry was paying what they did in the mid-eighties. Today we get less than half the rate from back then. The oil companies would not go away if we upped the rate, they need our oil. From 1992-1997, Norway collected more than two times Alberta's rate and Alaska got more than we did too. We're cold-hearted idiots in Alberta, especially for voting these morons into a dictatorship all the time. They haven't a clue what they are doing. the same thing can be applied to the forestry industry. We're giving that resource away too.

[cakadu]

Nobody is saying that at 65 you become a ward of the state and that you should have everything handed to you. Things are great if you're on an indexed pension, but there are seniors out there who truly struggle after having put in all their years working etc. All some have is their CPP and old age security. I would say that those sitting on a bar stool all day are in a very small minority.

Cowman, the reason your mother pays income tax every 3 months is because she doesn't have it deducted from source i.e. getting paid a wage and most people who fall into this category pay quarterly in order to avoid the "big whopper" at tax time.

The "extra" money for the teachers was actually their own money that would have been paid to them had they not been on strike, so it wasn't new money for them. The doctors got their 20% as a vote grab running up to an election.

We are paying the lions share of the health increases by increased premiums. If everyone else has to tighten their belts, then our elected officials should be leading by example, not giving themselves more at a time when all we hear is shrinking revenues from oil. Isn't there one person in the finance department that could say to the budget makers - "look, we shouldn't be basing all of our revenues on ridiculously high oil prices ie $35/barrel for the next year or 18 months."? What if you guys based your incomes on $2.00 calf prices? It would be nice, but pretty unrealistic.

Why should the electric companies be allowed to recoup their lost revenues when the cost per kwh was capped at 11.5 cents? What other person or organization can say that because we lost revenue last we we're going to gouge you for the next 2 years in order to make it back and be allowed to do it?

One day we might be these short-sighted toothless people running around looking for some help. What then?

Remember, if we keep going to the same well, we're going to get the same water.

[cowman]

Linda: I don't have all the answers! If I did I'd be running the show instead of bitching about it! Like you I am frustrated with this so called conservative government. It seems to me the real fiscal conservatives are gone(Dinning and West) and all we have left are the crooks and clowns(Kowalski and Klien!).My problem is who do we replace them with? Nichols? Raj? Well what do they say? More money for health care! More money for Education! More money! More money! more money!
Well here is a little bit of wisdom...there is no such thing as a free lunch!! More money means one thing...more taxes!! What we need is a politician who says" I will spend less money. I will cut spending on education and health care!"
Is my old mother wrong to complain about getting no benefits while others do? If she has money by her own efforts(in spite of the government,NOT in any way because of them!) why should she have to take care of those who never had the foresight to realize someday they would be old? Here is another bit of wisdom...be prepared to take care of yourself in your old age, because there won't be any government tit any more!!
Deb: I wonder why you hate the oil companys so much? I guess you don't remember why the royalties were lowered from Lougheeds time? It was because the damned east destroyed the oil and gas business. And the continued high taxation makes it hard to compete with Alaskan crude and gas. I don't know about Norway but will inquire of some of my buddies. Oil and gas companies will go where ever they can make a profit. Saskatchewan has a lot of oil and gas. The reason why it has never taken off is directly related to their dingbat governments!! It isn't worth the companys effort to develop marginal fields in Sask.! And while you rip the oil companys in Alberta do you have any kind of idea the amount of jobs(and very good jobs)they create? How much money they spend on goods and services? All this stuff is taxed by the province and I would suggest to you without this industry we would be probably one of the poorest provinces? So try not to bite the hand that feeds you too much.

[Deb]

Ken Nicol is an economist and knows agriculture inside out. He has bigger brains in his baby finger than all the Conservatives put together.

[cowman]

AHA!!! He is one of the little "experts"! I knew there was a reason I didn't like him! Give me Ralph the old drunk anyday!!!

[Deb]

Bingo. I rest my case.

[rodbradshaw]

It is easy to be an expert and make promises from the opposition benches. It is another to be in Government and actually fulfill those promises once in Government. I understand that most MLA's had great respect for Ken Nichols when he was just an MLA as he had constuctive criticism and good suggestions on how to better legislation. I understand that since he has become the leader he has fallin into the pattern of his predecessor of just complaining about everything and not trying to make things better.

[Deb]

Ken just too polite. He still has excellent suggestions, especially about creating a savings account, and tries to get the Tories to listen, but the Tories think they are gods now and won't listen to reason.

And "complaining", as you word it, is merely pointing out what they are doing that is wrong; he can't force them to do what is right. All any of us can do is wait for the next election and for some kind of public enlightenment as to the con goin' on in Ralph's world. But he'll throw around lots of money like he did last time just before the election and everyone will develop amnesia for awhile and forget the past gaffs.

[cowman]

I think they have a by-election coming up in Wainright soon so we will see if old Ralph got away with another one. I guess if they boot the Tories out he might reconsider his evil ways. I suspect the cigarette tax, increased fees and medicare premiums could be the biggest short term problem for Klein. In the long term cutting infrastructure money could be a real problem, although he caved in to Calgary and Edmonton so you can expect even less in the smaller centers. I suspect most people didn't care about the cuts to agriculture as they have sort of become expendable. I mean you can find out all you need to know from the "Ropin the Web" site so who needs the Ag offices?
And unfortunately most people would support more money for health care and education. Which just goes to show you what an effective propaganda machine the doctors and teachers have. Oh, and the fact the average person is an idiot who deserves to get the shaft from our "elite"!