Lower Taxes ???

[cowman]

When I was a kid there was no medi-care but in reality I don't think we suffered? I remember my mother payed right there if we had to go to the doctor.
When I was about 12 I broke both my arms and was in the hospital for 10 days as well as surgery. My mother was also in the hospital at the time for an operation...I think she was in for 12 days. I clearly remember my dad paying $56 at the hospital desk for both of us!
Of course he had an insurance plan that paid the extra! It was around $20/month and through Alberta Wheat Pool. I think most people had medical insurance?
Medi-care was supposed to be set up so no one would be wiped out if they got sick(as were the private insurance policies)? It wasn't meant to be the irresposible thing it has become? A goldmine for the doctors? Back before medi-care the doctors had to charge a reasonable fee or they didn't get any business...or they didn't get paid!
The federal and provincial governments have proven they are incapable of supplying health care...maybe they should let Mutual of Omaha take it over?

[Horse]

Cowman you may have had insurance but we did not I do rember people being turned away from the hospital because they didnt have the $5( i think) to be admited . There was people that lost everything because of acident or ilness. There was a child died in the parking lot of the Red Deer hospital of apendacitis because the didnt have the admiting fee, after that things changed to bad it took a tradigy to bring on change.

[cowman]

Well I never heard about that one but it might have happened. The concept that the poor never had access to medical services is not really correct? The Alberta government always had a sort of "medi care" for welfare people and the destitute?
We all make choices in this world of where we want to spend our money? The government has a social safety net that provides a minimum level of life, so for instance no one starves to death in Canada?
Consider this scenario: Private health care through a regulated mandatory insurance policy? You get to choose the level of deductible and policies basically tailored to your income? The governments role would be to "top up" those not able to afford the insurance.
So no welfare mommas or poor seniors etc. would be left without medical services? I would think a $500 deductible for most people should be the absolute minimum?
So you have a problem. Off to the doctor and you pay him...at least up to $500...then your insurance kicks in!
To keep the doctors on the level there would probably have to be some sort of regulation on what they charge.
Also why do we provide a working place for private corporation doctors... support staff, shop supplies, etc.? If the doctor wants to put you in the hospital then it shouldn't be the taxpayer paying for that?
Good health would mean a lower insurance premium...just like good drivers get a lower car insurance premium? Why should the taxpayer be picking up the tab for people who want to abuse their health?
The privatization of medical services would bring back responsibility to the system? It would make us responsible for our own health and our own lives! Theres no such thing as a free lunch in this old world.

[cowman]

When I had my sons we did not have any health care and paid for all doctors office visits and deliveries ourselves. Now, we were very fortunate in that both our sons were healthy, no surgeries, nothing more serious than getting the odd stitch once in awhile. I can remember my parents paying the doctor $5 whenever they needed to go and see one which was very seldom. Medications were paid for by the patients, in fact during the years our kids were growing up we did not have Blue Cross so paid all prescription medications ourselves.

I do feel that there needs to be a controlled form of private insurance or we will all pay higher and higher fees because of the costs of delivering the system to all, similar to vehicle insurance.

This post was about lower taxes so I do want to add the following. I had lunch with an individual in senior administration in a central AB County the other day and we were discussing the inequity in the property tax system.
He has a huge dairy in his county, they pay $250 a year in property tax on a property that is worth millions.
Conversly there is a large implement dealer in his county that pays nearly $50,000 annually in property tax on a property that is worth approximately the same amount.

The dairy pounds the heck out of the roads hauling silage, manure etc. and yet the rest of the taxpayers pick up the tab. If the implement dealer were to damage the roads they would have to pay for gravel, grading etc. to repair them.

I am hearing that from a lot of municipalities, as the larger feeding operations continue to develop. Custom manure haulers come into an area and pound the heck out of local roads, create dust that neighbours have to contend with etc., and yet the counties cannot recoup enough property tax to pay for the added cost of maintenance. If the oil industry damages roads they pay for gravel, and costs of county equipment to repair the road, and usually on a rig move they are required to have a water truck along to ensure that dust does not become a problem.

The average ma and pa farming operation doesn't fall into the above category as most of them live in a fairly decent house and pay taxes on their house and three acre site as well as farm land tax, but many of the confined feeding operations just have a older mobile home onsite for a worker to reside in, and the farm buildings are not taxed.

I don't advocate taxing all farm buildings so please don't read that into this post but there certainly has to be a way of taxing big farm business so the rest of the tax base does not have to pay the shot.

[TOM4CWB]

Emrald1;

Taxing farm buildings:

The Alberta gov. has already past amendments in some Counties requireing this; but why would you endorse this?

DO i build a shop to fix things, just to have the gov. tax my repair facility... making it less economical and increasing my costs... when many times I can't repair new equip now anyway my self?

Why on earth do you want to help destroy farmers by taxing us; isn't this kicking farmers when they are down and hurting?

[TOM4CWB]

perhaps you should read my post before making that asumption. If you read the last sentence you will see that I do not advocate taxing farm buildings. There is a huge difference between family farms and huge confined feeding operations. Please don't jump to inaccurate conclusions !!!!!

[cowman]

Well I think Letbridge tried to float the idea of an "animal tax" where the large feedlots and barns would have to pay so much an animal? The concept was the big factory farms were tearing up the roads, so should pay more? I really don't think that was such a bad idea?
When a rig moves, they water the road for dust, they have a grader out there if deemed necessary, they put down gravel if they wrecked the road. When the silage trucks ruin the roads the county picks up the tab! Is that really fair? Especially when the oil company pays more taxes on that one lease than 1,000 acres of farmland does?
Personally I believe that when it comes to the grid roads it should be user pay? Why should all the farmers pay so someone can run a factory...and call it a farm?

[cowman]

exactly the point I was trying to make. Even if the large confined feeding operations were paying to have water trucks behind the silage trucks and compensated the municipality when custom manure spreading trucks pounded the hell out of the roads it would mean some amount paid back to the county vs having it subsidized by the rest of the citizens.
I would certainly advocate a certain size level so the smaller family operations weren't hit with road maintenance costs.
Cowman, Lethbridge did try and implement such a tax by bringing forward a resolution to AAMD C but it was defeated because some elected officials in other areas of the province were afraid their electorate would give them the boot. After that the province sent out a COMMITTEE to review farmland assessment and their recommendation was taxation based on a 'footprint' concept but that idea was put on a shelf after the drought years and BSE.