Fiscal conservatives sometimes talk about government debt in terms of inter-generational justice. Borrowing today saddles future generations with debt. In reality, it’s a bit more complicated - spending that invests in future prosperity in a meaningful way can be a reasonable choice on behalf of future generations.
A very good point. The NDP is a party that represents the interests of ordinary people. Hence the focus on essential public services, for example. When it comes to the oil industry, such a party is aware of the history of the industry and what it's meant for the people who directly or indirectly have made a living from it. And as the industry winds down, as it must, the NDP is naturally the party that thinks about the consequences for those people. The UCP, or whatever the conservative party is called at any given time, is clearly a party that represents the interests of corporate shareholders. As the industry winds down, their priority is to continue to ensure that shareholders get the maximum returns possible under all circumstances. The NDP is not "a proponent of the industry". The NDP is a proponent of the wellbeing of the people.
In advance of the next provincial election in Alberta, some very serious questions must be asked to all the UCP candidates who are running again, and to Danielle Smith.
The first question is why have the Conservatives in Alberta been allowed to get away with doing scandal after scandal, for a very long time, which cost Albertans so much money?
The second question is why are the UCP blaming someone else for the predicament Alberta is now in, when the provincial Conservative governments in this province caused the problems we have?
The third question is why were Peter Lougheed's sound principles abandoned, and pseudo Conservatives and Reformers allowed to implement their very harmful neoliberal policies on Alberta?
Basically, anyone who believes that Ralph Klein got Alberta in a debt free position, is very misinformed. Ralph Klein lied about doing that. This orphan well mess goes back decades, and this is his doing. We have to come up with a grand sum of $260 billion to handle this very serious matter.
This is what happened when a reversal of the way Peter Lougheed managed the oil industry in Alberta transpired. Peter Lougheed never would let things in the oil industry get out of hand. He happened to understand the nature of the oil industry, when he was employed in it, in Oklahoma, during the 1950s. Boom one day, then bust the next day.
Due to the Alberta PCs mismanaging the oil industry in Alberta, for so long, we were robbed blind of hundreds of billions of dollars, caused by pathetic oil royalties, which left us with $575 billion less. Multiple oil industry related boondoggles, caused by the Alberta PCs, and the UCP, have also set us back billions of dollars more.
The Redwater upgrader has a myriad of costs, which is way beyond the $30 billion range, because of building costs, carbon capture on the facility, fueling it with loads of government purchased bitumen, and government takeover, to try and keep it afloat.
The UCP gambled away $7.5 billion on a pipeline that hit a brick wall, because Joe Biden made it clear that he would kill this project, if he ever took office. There are $6 billion in loan guarantees that cannot be traced.
The UCP also gave oil companies in Alberta a big property tax break, which in turn lost Alberta something like $250 million. Who picks up the slack? Municipalities in Alberta have to. Up, up goes their property taxes.
Here, the UCP are giving oil companies $20 billion of our money to fix a problem that they were allowed to cause.
After the Conservatives keep on hitting us, with one very costly boondoogle after another, year after year, in this province, it gets overlooked, and it isn't a big deal. When the oil boom goes bust, someone else took the money.
Then, people have to needlessly suffer, because neoliberal austerity happens, which sets us backwards. We still have never healed from the cuts of Ralph Klein. This will take generations to recover from.
The question we must ask in Alberta is this. When will the Conservatives be held accountable for their actions, which are a detriment to the well being of this province and its people?
An provincial election in Alberta is on the horizon, and this is what must be asked.
A very good point. The NDP is a party that represents the interests of ordinary people. Hence the focus on essential public services, for example. When it comes to the oil industry, such a party is aware of the history of the industry and what it's meant for the people who directly or indirectly have made a living from it. And as the industry winds down, as it must, the NDP is naturally the party that thinks about the consequences for those people. The UCP, or whatever the conservative party is called at any given time, is clearly a party that represents the interests of corporate shareholders. As the industry winds down, their priority is to continue to ensure that shareholders get the maximum returns possible under all circumstances. The NDP is not "a proponent of the industry". The NDP is a proponent of the wellbeing of the people.
Nice to have a Premier who thinks that job and the being an oil industry lobbyist are the same thing.
In advance of the next provincial election in Alberta, some very serious questions must be asked to all the UCP candidates who are running again, and to Danielle Smith.
The first question is why have the Conservatives in Alberta been allowed to get away with doing scandal after scandal, for a very long time, which cost Albertans so much money?
The second question is why are the UCP blaming someone else for the predicament Alberta is now in, when the provincial Conservative governments in this province caused the problems we have?
The third question is why were Peter Lougheed's sound principles abandoned, and pseudo Conservatives and Reformers allowed to implement their very harmful neoliberal policies on Alberta?
Basically, anyone who believes that Ralph Klein got Alberta in a debt free position, is very misinformed. Ralph Klein lied about doing that. This orphan well mess goes back decades, and this is his doing. We have to come up with a grand sum of $260 billion to handle this very serious matter.
This is what happened when a reversal of the way Peter Lougheed managed the oil industry in Alberta transpired. Peter Lougheed never would let things in the oil industry get out of hand. He happened to understand the nature of the oil industry, when he was employed in it, in Oklahoma, during the 1950s. Boom one day, then bust the next day.
Due to the Alberta PCs mismanaging the oil industry in Alberta, for so long, we were robbed blind of hundreds of billions of dollars, caused by pathetic oil royalties, which left us with $575 billion less. Multiple oil industry related boondoggles, caused by the Alberta PCs, and the UCP, have also set us back billions of dollars more.
The Redwater upgrader has a myriad of costs, which is way beyond the $30 billion range, because of building costs, carbon capture on the facility, fueling it with loads of government purchased bitumen, and government takeover, to try and keep it afloat.
The UCP gambled away $7.5 billion on a pipeline that hit a brick wall, because Joe Biden made it clear that he would kill this project, if he ever took office. There are $6 billion in loan guarantees that cannot be traced.
The UCP also gave oil companies in Alberta a big property tax break, which in turn lost Alberta something like $250 million. Who picks up the slack? Municipalities in Alberta have to. Up, up goes their property taxes.
Here, the UCP are giving oil companies $20 billion of our money to fix a problem that they were allowed to cause.
After the Conservatives keep on hitting us, with one very costly boondoogle after another, year after year, in this province, it gets overlooked, and it isn't a big deal. When the oil boom goes bust, someone else took the money.
Then, people have to needlessly suffer, because neoliberal austerity happens, which sets us backwards. We still have never healed from the cuts of Ralph Klein. This will take generations to recover from.
The question we must ask in Alberta is this. When will the Conservatives be held accountable for their actions, which are a detriment to the well being of this province and its people?
An provincial election in Alberta is on the horizon, and this is what must be asked.