Jerry J. Fortin

Most people probably don't want to hear this but.... Look what the impact of privatization and deregulation really meant to Albertans. Before folks jump on the right wing band wagon look into the realities for yourselves. In Alberta we had the cheapest utilities in Canada, that changed. Beer stores and vehicle registries are only a corner of the equation folks. Look at the loss of public assets and the added costs to the citizens before making any decision.

If the tree-huggers truly believe in their cause I would expect them to take public transit or ride a bike. I would expect them to have their own organic gardens. I would expect them to be living off the grid. If they are not doing at least these things then they are talking out of their asses. GHG's, man made global warming, carbon taxes and all other forms of current fertilizer being foisted by these folks are causing all sorts of focus problems for citizens around the world. The wealth transfer being planned is bad enough but the entire package revolves around corporate governance! We will be throwing democracy out the window in favour of a junk science dictatorship of corporate welfare bums supported by politicians.

Targeting tax revenues is an interesting idea. You can see how it has worked so far though. Income taxes were supposed to cover a war debt then be eliminated. I do not see it that way at all. Those business's make money now and it is not taxed. Those business's actually have a legal expediture attached to them right now on the part of the government. So you would be reducing expenses and increasing revenues. With all due respect, the sex trade has been around since the beginning of time. Get the drugs, the pimps, the under-aged girls out of the equation and you have solved the moral dilema for the most part. These women need no further direction from the government to earn a living. It also makes sex offenses so much easier to successfully prosecute. Make the profession safer and healthier for all involved. Legislating morality is an exercise in expense without revenue. Something the governments of the day need to think very carefully about.

They only touch the people to take their money. Ever met a poor politician or a rich person in touch with the rest of the public?

Weed should be legal, period. Booze and smokes are, so why not weed? Sell it in government stores and tax the hell out of it just like smokes and booze. Big revenue stream and reduced legal expenditures. While you are at it, legalize the hookers but not the pimps. Make it legal and tax the hell out of that as well. I have said all along it is a revenue issue, not a spending issue.

Yes, definitely. It is the North Americans that must deal with this issue. China trade will creep westward on their continent and end up competing with India for Europe. Over here in North America we will suffer the same issues as we did with Europe a few hundred years ago, they will want our resources not our production. China is protectionist, and its working for them and against us. There is little that we can do about it. We, the westerners drew up the rules and they have simply learned how to play the game and circumvent those rules which do not meet their needs. In short they have gone to school on us. Having said all this, we can still adapt and take advantage of an opportunity to get involved with the largest market economy in the world, Asia. This is not news or even news worthy. Yet the current system of things over here is not geared to identify and take maximum advantage of the situation. We need new ideas and methods of commerce to tackle this with any degree of success.

I hope so. You realize Social Credit designed the Alaskan Permanent Trust Fund. It is what the Alberta Heritage Trust Fund was supposed to look like, but the PC's got their mitts on it and well the rest is history. The Socred's were far right, yet socially left. They were like Panasonic, slightly ahead of their time. They had interesting monetary policies, trade policies, intergovernmental relations and numerous other little items that in retrospect have great relevance today. I think the PC's are screwed and will lose power at the first opportunity which will be the next mandated general election. I will predict that the PC's don't actually call an election they will just let the clock run down. The smart thing for Albertans to do would be to get inside the Wildrose tent quickly and utilize the opportunity to shape policy prior to the next election.

There are damned few politicians in Canada in touch with reality, let alone in touch with the people. These folks are "yes" people living off of the tax dollars of citizens. They are like leeches.

No, it means that China went to school on capitalism. They now have an integrated system of communism and capitalism that the western world has to deal with. The fact is that China is using a hybrid system that perpetuates the use of cheap feudal like labour. There is still 20 plus million migrant laborers wandering around. Now add to that modern mechanized production of everything from food products to high end electronics. They are building power plants by the week and factories by the day. China is an emerging economic super-power the likes of which the world has never seen before. Its all about the rise of Asian markets, it has nothing to do with Europe or North America.

Isn't the real question here what and how much these representatives can claim at all?

I maintain the issue is one of revenue shortfalls not spending. The government needs more revenues.

The worm is turning again.

The wealth transfer will be huge. Make no mistake about this people, it WILL happen. The swing has begun, started from seemingly unattached reasons and causes. The rise of China is a reality. They are no longer the sleeping giant. Coming hard on the heals of China is India. The tide is turning folks and its time to adapt. Brace for the high waters people, its flood season.

The spin doctors are running at max rpm. The reality here is that there was in fact a history of abuse. The government was aware of it and denied it with their efforts at spin "control", because we all know that beating people up isn't torture.

It would take a government with both a spine and a big brass pair to step up to the plate and call a spade a spade. The war on drugs can be summed up with two words....epic failure.

So you suggest a political solution of pay cuts to government employees. Do you really think that these clowns will take pay cuts and benefit cuts? Do you think they would take one for the gipper? Get a grip.

I think all of you folks are out to lunch! Why would we not simply hand the entire mess over to the government. We do have a guy on the peoples dime with the responsibility of the "Environment". This person gets paid by the people to handle matters specific to his Ministry. This comes under that category, and is therefore that persons responsibility, it is this person who is supposed to get to the bottom of the issue and provide recommendations to the Prime Minister. So why is this not happening? The government employs one hell of a lot of scientists and commissions numerous reports from private sources on a regular basis. Why have they not given a solution to the problem? Why have they not been held accountable for the problems? We need to forget all the media garbage and start to place our concerns where thy belong! Why do we have a government?

Governments of any partisan faction have a difficult role to play. Once elected the daily chore of running the nation takes precedence over partisan whims and the concerns of individuals. Of course a balance must be struck, but that is not visible to the citizens at all, or ever.

We need a carbon tax as much as we need a second anal orifice.

Only a fool would believe there is such a thing as painless cuts to government programs.

In my view it is not that we are spending to much, but instead that we have less revenues than expenditures. With that in mind I suggest that we increase revenues. That does not mean simply increasing taxation, it does mean designing a system of revenue stream generation that meets the needs of the citizens. Lets face it folks, we wanted all those programs the government runs, we must have because we supported the government in free elections that created those programs. We didn't depose them and eliminate the program spending, so all that we can take from that is the reality that the people of this nation got what they asked for. I think we have a good shot at turning things around working within the system we have if we simply utilize the resources available to us. The north is a vast treasure trove of natural resources. The Territories have little say in what happens up there because they simply don't have provincial rights and authorities. So it becomes a no-brainer, develop the north and utilized the royalty revenues to compensate for our expenditures and revenue shortfall.

These things take time. I think that both the American and Canadian governments seek some way out, yet both hold fast to that high moral turf.

The scandal that won't go away.... CBC News

My point is that the powers and authority of government have insufficient limits based on the constitution.

Yes. That was never its intent. Its intention was to treat the owners of guns like criminals. Guns are merely personal property and should be treated as such under the appropriate "provincial laws" as they used to be. What the government did was incorporate guns into the criminal code and hijacked the jurisdiction from the provinces. So since it only happens to a few people that makes it okay? You have got to be kidding. What fixed Bill 101 in Quebec, I will need to see the proof of that. In fact I think you will do the country as well as the English speaking citizens of Quebec a large favour when you can ensure that the language police are breaking the law when they fine you for having big English letters on a sign in front of your shop. Its the fine print that will get you every time dude. Its the little things that need attention, and they need it in the worst way possible. The thing that really bothers me is that the sheeple of this nation actually believe that their focus should be on the "big picture" simply because they follow the partisan rantings of folks trained to manipulate opinions.