Alberta...debt free?

[cakadu]

Just remember that as the population grows, so will the costs of some of these basic services like heath care and education. Look at the population of Calgary -- almost 1 million people. Who gets the bulk of the "new" health money?

Cowman, if as you suggest, we are producing kids that don't know much of anything when they're done school, then doesn't it behoove those that are in charge of the educational curriculum to ensure that it does? Schools are funded in part, based on what courses they can offer kids. Some classes have 10 to 12 students in them because they are options and not everyone likes the same things. Should we have all these options just so that a school can get more money, to pay teachers with classrooms that are less than half full, when the biggest complaint teachers have is class size? Wouldn't that money be better spent on enough teachers to teach the basics and forget all the optional under-utilized classes? Yes, variety is good, but there should be a limit as to how much is a good thing.

As the baby boomers age, this is where we see more and more need for health care because things just wear out after a while, or a tune-up is in order. People are living longer, so they require services for longer.

Don't forget that back when we got on this "fiscal restraint" bandwagon, there were many services that were completely hacked away and I would say that all these recent spending announcements will help us to get where we should have been, had we not had all these cuts in the first place. At first glance it may seem like a lot is getting put back, when I would say that it is merely keeping us where we would have been had things been allowed to evolve as a matter of course.

(By the way, cowman, how am I doing?) ;-)

[GrnAsMoss]

The price of being in debt is onerus. How can anyone say they would rather be in debt than out of it.
What a good example Alberta will set for the rest of Canada. Don't be mislead that we are the only province to have oil resources. The province of B.C. has been trying to develop it's off shore oil reserve off the coast of Prince Rupert since the 60's, and Sask. has a plentyful reserve under the ecologically sensitive sand dunes of the South. Ra Ra Ralph for letting us develop our oil reserves when the price of oil is strong before Koyoto takes effect, and the wind turbines take over. It's because of the oil revenue we got this far, can the other Western provinces do the same?
Next step, education and health care. One thing at a time.

[cakadu]

Grn - how much of the environment have we disturbed - in some cases irreparably - in the name of finding that oil? Let's not just stop at oil though.

There is only something in the neighborhood of 17% of Alberta's forested areas that have been left untouched. We seem to overlook this - or don't even know it - when we point our fingers at other countries for destroying their rain forests in the name of gaining riches and market share.

We see more animal/human tragedies for both animals and humans I might add than we ever have before because we are slowly pushing wildlife to the brink and limits of their habitats and territory.

Those million dollar homes overlooking the mountains and rivers will be quite something when there is no wildlife to observe or our source drinking water has been depleted to the point where paying any amount of money for potable will become the norm because everything needs water to survive.

I believe that it is less than 25% of the resource developed lands are reclaimed. Why? Because the laws governing reclamation are not enforced. Why is that? Because we make too much money from them not being enforced and there isn't the staff to monitor to see if the reclamations are being completed.

But I guess all of it is okay because we can still afford to put gas in those big honkin' trucks, motor homes and SUV's.

I'm very concerned that we aren't thinking beyond today. We are here just borrowing all of this. What are we leaving for future generations?

[cakadu]

Woops, that should be we will pay any amount for potable water.

Consider also that people are against the big businesses in agriculture i.e. Monsanto etc. for wanting GE products. What about all the big businesses that are exploiting the natural resources we have?

I'm not going to get out there with any placards any time soon, but I do think that we need to start taking a look at the long-term effects of what we are doing. We are better educated, more informed and understand more of what we are doing than we have been at any point in history. What is preventing us from using that knowledge to benefit the environment and our future generations?

Well, I guess the province will be out of debt, so why should we care?

[cowman]

Hey Linda...doing good!
The fact is Ralph or Peter or Don didn't invent the oil and gas business in Alberta. Now it is true they lucked into a very good situation with the oil crisis in the early seventies, but in fact they have not gotten a very good deal on royalties compared to just about every other oil producing country in the world? I will note they all seem to be doing very well personally though?
Consider that evil old Iraq? Before the first Gulf War all medi-care and education(including university) were totally free for Iraqi citizens! And don't believe Iraq was some sort of religious fundamentalist state...they were a very progressive socia
list dictatorship!
And meanwhile here in Alberta the Tories continue to rake in the cash and really give nothing back to the actual owners of the resources! The Alberta Advantage? What advantage? We pay a health care premium...Saskatchewan doesn't. We pay outrageous insurance prices...Saskatchewan doesn't! Go to Saskatchewan and buy almost anything. Pay the 7% GST and then pay the PST and what does it cost you...about the exact same price as it does in Alberta! Who benifits?
I will agree entirely with Linda about the forest in Alberta! It is an absolute scandal and the real scandal is the people of Alberta are getting absolutely nothing for their trees...in fact it is costing us tax payers money!
I also agree totally that we need to start realizing water is a very valuable commodity, that we have to stop giving away and squandering! The water, like the gas and oil and the forests, belong to us, the citizens, not the likes of Klein and his gang! Commerce is necessary, but we the people should be benifitting not the political hacks who get their dirty little kickbacks under the table, for letting the pirates and thieves rob us!

[gwynplaine]

A couple of concerns.

$65,000 a year baby sitters? Is that what you call the people who spend more time with your children than you do? What value do you put on your children? It concerns me, that teachers are looked upon so lowly, when they in fact are not just teachers anymore, they are councillors, de facto parents, and for the most part, care about their kids. There are, as with any job, the poor ones and the plain bad teachers, but far and away the majority devote their lives to YOUR children. Much is made of the 2 months vacation, but if you actually meet a teacher, you'll understand the amount of time it takes to teach your children, and the amout of unpaid overtime they put in marking, planning, and coaching extra-curricular activities. Talk to one, ask how much of their own time (evenings, weekends, holidays) they donate. I'm ok with paying them top dollar services, to encourage new and young, enthusiastic dedicated teachers. In short, look at the persons doing the job, not the union or the sterotype. Perhaps I'm biased, having family memebrs as teachers and a great deal of friends from University that came through the Education program. Look into it, though.

OK, I have more concerns, but no more time. I'd imagine I'll be back.

[cowman]

I have one sister who is still teaching, one retired and one an U of A prof! My mother was also a school teacher, during the war! When my dad came home she quit to help on the farm and take care of him.
My old mother(83) is apalled by the way teachers complain about all their hard work and keep demanding more money!
Counselling? Try telling a seven year old why her daddy was killed in Italy while her own husband is fighting on the front lines at Casino and later shot up real bad in a field hospital in Holland?
The thing I was trying to say was this: The times are a changing? A whole lot of kids can learn a whole lot more than at a school? The internet is changing all our lives...why not learning? Get rid of close to half the schools?
By the way I will note my own children are done school(well one in her third year of university) and they did very well. I will note they were all "learners" who could read and write well before they ever went to school. My wife and I did little in the way of them learning this...in fact it was Sesame Street that taught them!
Of course we'll always need schools but I do believe we could eliminate a lot of them if we could get rid of the "education oligarchy" which is more concerned with keeping the status quoe alive and well than giving the customer value for their money?

[Horse]

I have always wondered when people say that ralph and co have done a good job of managing our economy as compared to what and inverably they will point at sask or BC but there is nothing to compare as we all have different resources and issues.
But if you look at what we get for our money you will see we get very little . It kind of reminds me of one time I went to the neibours when he waS COMBINING and there was grain all over behind the comb when I mentioned it to him his answer was where was still lots going in the hopper.
Thats how I think the most of albertians look at it.

[cakadu]

There are many who are expected to do more in their jobs for less pay - often unpaid overtime. That's kind of what happens when you are a salaried employee versus one that gets paid by the hour. It would be interesting to see the split in the number of teachers who put in the extra effort and those who show up at 8:00 and leave at 4:30 or whenever it is they get off these days.

We have gone "lean and mean" these last few years, but who has it affected more - the person who makes $100K per year or the one making $8.00/hr? I sometimes have to wonder who has really paid to see the debt wiped out.

The "working poor" are increasing in number - why is that?

This will be a flag that is waved heartily in the run up to what is anticipated to be a fall election. How about we hold them accountable and see where they would like to go in the future? What plans do they have then?

[gwynplaine]

With regards to Saskatchewan and BC, I think we need to point out it's the government mismanagment that has them in trouble. Take, for example, there are more Forested acres in Sask than in Alberta (seriously... look it up), similar natural gas and Oil deposits, and amazing amounts of farmland. It's the socialist "Let The Government Do It" attitude that's killing their economies.

Teachers that do no work after 4:30? Find one for me. Really, I'll wait, I can afford the time. And, CLOSE more schools? Want to speak of widening the gap between rich and poor, how will the 'working poor' afford the time and effort required to ensure their children are learning properly (seeing as they're stretched to the limit and going to bed hungry every night). Let alone the cost of Computers, software and what have to just to get hooked up. And, it is a fact that poorer children get into more trouble with the law, thus perpetuating the cycle of poverty and crime. With no time as it is for proper supervision, these children 'educated' by the Internet, I predict, will have even more time for petty crime and vandalism. The dollars we spend on education go a long way, I believe, in giving less fortunate kids a chance. That being said, the system IS flawed, must be streamlined and re-worked in such a fashion that education dollars are spent educating, not on admin.

I do understand it would be difficult to explain to a child that their father was dead. A horrible task! However, look at how teachers these days are impotent, regarding discipline. 'Don't touch my child'. I got strapped at school, and was terrified of telling my parents, for fear that I'd get it twice as bad at home. Try that today. The ammount that kids need to know these days is also far greater than what it was even 25 years ago.

With regards to wages, it takes 11 years to get to $60,000 per year for a teacher. They start at $36,000. For the most part, they are worth $60, 000 and more. There are ALWAYS exceptions. Some, I'm sure, do not deserve even half the money they make - it is the same in ANY industry.

However, your'e absolutly correct when you say the top-heavy oligarchy (I prefer beurocracy) needs to be elimintinated. What's the solution? I know what it isn't. It is most emphatically NOT closing schools.