Alberta deficit projection jumps 42.6%

[Visionseeker]

Alberta's deficit, original thought to come in at $4.7 billion, is now expected to grow much higher:

Alberta's record deficit expected to jump by $2B

The province that only recently prided itself on eliminating its $25 billion debt is well on course to re-accumulate it in just a few short years. Now the government faces choices that were almost laughable as recently as last year: cutting spending and raising taxes.

With natural gas and oil prices fetching far less than projected and a number of planned energy development projects all but abandoned by the oil and gas sector, serious questions are bound to be raised about the province's reliance on royalties from commodity based industries to fuel the public coffers. To make matters worse, the true environmental costs of some of the projects that are in operation are only now coming to light. We've seen what happened to the seal hunt when committed activists focused their attention on vilifying culling practices that have gone on for over a millennium. What will happen if such attention is brought to bear on "dirty oil"?

Are these fiscal problems just a one-off, short term problem that will sort itself out shortly (like in a year or two), or are they but a symptom of a more profound crisis facing the province over the long term?

[Alta4ever]

Are these fiscal problems just a one-off, short term problem that will sort itself out shortly (like in a year or two), or are they but a symptom of a more profound crisis facing the province over the long term?

It is a symptom of losing our conservatives and having only progessives in government, but don't worry change is comming, we will go back to a small c government and lose these progressives.

[jdobbin]

It is a symptom of losing our conservatives and having only progessives in government, but don't worry change is comming, we will go back to a small c government and lose these progressives.

How is that going to happen?

[Alta4ever]

How is that going to happen?

A centre right party gaining ground, and progressives fear of losing to a centre right party. Most progressive MLA's know that their competition will come from a principled main stream centre right party not the liberals or NDP they are dead in this province the progressives have become lazy and too liberal for the province, stelmacks approval ratings are abysmal. There is a political void in this province just itching to be filled.

[punked]

A centre right party gaining ground, and progressives fear of losing to a centre right party. Most progressive MLA's know that their competition will come from a principled main stream centre right party not the liberals or NDP they are dead in this province the progressives have become lazy and too liberal for the province, stelmacks approval ratings are abysmal. There is a political void in this province just itching to be filled.

Bring on the Social Credit party.

[Alta4ever]

Bring on the Social Credit party.

long dead

[Visionseeker]

It is a symptom of losing our conservatives and having only progessives in government, but don't worry change is comming, we will go back to a small c government and lose these progressives.

These are progressives!:

Alberta Finance Minister Iris Evans

Evans stresses one parent should stay at home

Conservative MLA Doug Elniski

"don't give me that 'treated equal' stuff"

And these are but the most recent public displays of Leave it to Beaver nostalgia from the government ranks. I think your response is somewhat lacking... if only in the labelling department.

Seriously, what is your solution to Alberta's current economic woes?

[Alta4ever]

Seriously, what is your solution to Alberta's current economic woes?

cut down the size of government it has balloon more then 40% over the last few years. Cut the Carbon capture and storage until we can afford to pay for it, roll back the royalties to what they were before the Stelmach government. Cut government spending role back the MLA wage increase. Much pork can be cut out of the provincial budget.

Liberals don't say stupid things?

[Alta4ever]

History proves that true conservatives in government in this province run it very well, and we do very well under them, when we stray from that path, we see the problems like the ones we have now. To deny this fact is to deny the history of politics in Alberta.

[Visionseeker]

History proves that true conservatives in government in this province run it very well, and we do very well under them, when we stray from that path, we see the problems like the ones we have now. To deny this fact is to deny the history of politics in Alberta.

Um, conservatives have been in power in Alberta for 40 years. So they wear both the success and failure record over the entire era. History proves that the impressions of success or failure for Alberta governments are directly tied to the yield of royalties from oil and gas. In the 80's, NEP was blamed for what was fundamentally Alberta's excessive dependence on an elastic industry. That elasticity has emerged again and, without NEP to blame, people are apt to look for real answers to the province's over dependence on a commodities industry.

Alberta has twice failed to take advantage of windfall periods to invest in economic diversification. And these failures reinforce the notion that the province has become nothing more than a great big boom town where the riches are soon to disappear and all that will be left behind are some ranches and big swaths of pollution.

[jdobbin]

A centre right party gaining ground, and progressives fear of losing to a centre right party. Most progressive MLA's know that their competition will come from a principled main stream centre right party not the liberals or NDP they are dead in this province the progressives have become lazy and too liberal for the province, stelmacks approval ratings are abysmal. There is a political void in this province just itching to be filled.

Are any center right parties gaining a lot of strength? I haven't seen a large sample provincial poll from Alberta in a while.

[Alta4ever]

Um, conservatives have been in power in Alberta for 40 years.

Umm their are different factions with the PC party, not all "conservatives". Up swings and down swings through the political history of the province confirm what I have posted not just the recent history (last 30 years). If you insist on the last 40 years of history, the NEP raped the people of Alberta, yet Getty not a fiscal conservative compounded our problems, the tories at the end of his tenure were on tenuous re-election grounds, it was only klein that save the party from oblivion, now we have the cycle repeating, tories on tenuous ground with a very unpopular big spending leader.

[Alta4ever]

Are any center right parties gaining a lot of strength? I haven't seen a large sample provincial poll from Alberta in a while.

There is the possiblity of one, but we'll see how that leadership race turns out (we'll see if the mainstream grass roots take sthe day). As for polling data, again we'll have to see when the leadership for that party winds up as the polling companies wopn't be inculding them until the leadership campaign is done.

[Visionseeker]

cut down the size of government it has balloon more then 40% over the last few years.

Which sectors of government have grown? Are they addressing needs like education, health care, or some other area?

Cut the Carbon capture and storage until we can afford to pay for it, roll back the royalties to what they were before the Stelmach government. Cut government spending role back the MLA wage increase. Much pork can be cut out of the provincial budget.

MLA wage cuts won't amout to anything financially, but would deliver a limited PR success. Beyond that, where the specific "pork" you'd cut?

Liberals don't say stupid things?

Sure they do. Dippers do as well. The difference is that when they say them, they pay for it by resigning. When conservatives say them, a half-baked apology is offered in the hopes that the offended will eventually forget. But that only works if the misstep is a rarity. But I digress...

The stupid things said in these instances are evidence of anything but progressivism existing within the ranks of the present government.

[Visionseeker]

Umm their are different factions with the PC party, not all "conservatives". Up swings and down swings through the political history of the province confirm what I have posted not just the recent history (last 30 years). If you insist on the last 40 years of history, the NEP raped the people of Alberta, yet Getty not a fiscal conservative compounded our problems, the tories at the end of his tenure were on tenuous re-election grounds, it was only klein that save the party from oblivion, now we have the cycle repeating, tories on tenuous ground with a very unpopular big spending leader.

Right. Success measured on a boom/bust cycle. Thanks for making my point.

[ironstone]

Um, conservatives have been in power in Alberta for 40 years. So they wear both the success and failure record over the entire era. History proves that the impressions of success or failure for Alberta governments are directly tied to the yield of royalties from oil and gas. In the 80's, NEP was blamed for what was fundamentally Alberta's excessive dependence on an elastic industry. That elasticity has emerged again and, without NEP to blame, people are apt to look for real answers to the province's over dependence on a commodities industry.

Alberta has twice failed to take advantage of windfall periods to invest in economic diversification. And these failures reinforce the notion that the province has become nothing more than a great big boom town where the riches are soon to disappear and all that will be left behind are some ranches and big swaths of pollution.

I shudder to think what Alberta might be like now if the Liberals or NDP had been in power for the last 40 years or so.Without question,they would be in much worse shape.

[Smallc]

Without qestion...or without evidence?

[Alta4ever]

Without qestion...or without evidence?

IF you compair to the provinces on either side and the liberal/NDP governments they had, it is without question.

[Smallc]

Since you can't just compart province to province, it's irrelivant....but Saskatchewan is creeping up on you fast in terms of wealth, and not all of that wealth creation happened under the Saskatchewan party.

[punked]

Since you can't just compart province to province, it's irrelivant....but Saskatchewan is creeping up on you fast in terms of wealth, and not all of that wealth creation happened under the Saskatchewan party.

NDP NDP NDP. They aren't doing a bad job out west Saskatchewan (not so much right at this second), Manitoba.

[Alta4ever]

Since you can't just compart province to province, it's irrelivant....but Saskatchewan is creeping up on you fast in terms of wealth, and not all of that wealth creation happened under the Saskatchewan party.

Funny that it is a conservative government in power.

[Alta4ever]

NDP NDP NDP. They aren't doing a bad job out west Saskatchewan (not so much right at this second), Manitoba.

When is manitoba going to get off the dole?

[jdobbin]

When is manitoba going to get off the dole?

I guess about the same time that Alberta refuses to take the $4 billion a year they get from federal government themselves in transfer payments.

Edited July 1, 2009 by jdobbin

[punked]

Funny that it is a conservative government in power.

On might say they are a Liberal party, they were part of that coalition too eh? Regardless they have only been in power a year I don't know if they get the credit for the improvement over the last 10.

[Alta4ever]

I guess about the same time that Alberta refuses to take the $4 billion a year they get from federal government themselves in transfer payments.

we are a net contributor are you?