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Friday, September 16, 2005

"Please Lord let me have another oil boom and I won't piss it away"

This morning we were feeling particularily frustrated with the Alberta Government's complete lack of vision when it comes to what to do with Alberta's "new found" wealth.

So, we wrote a letter to the Edmonton Journal...

"Please Lord let me have another oil boom and I won't piss it away"

Albertans are privileged to have the option of issuing $300 rebate cheques. But simply because we have the ability to do so, it does not mean we should. We could do many things with this money. We could build a giant statue of Ralph Klein in Churchill Square, but it doesn't mean we should.

Let's invest in our communities. Let's invest in our education and advanced education systems. Let's invest our wealth in the future of our province so that the generations of tomorrow can enjoy the economic wealth that the politicians of today take for granted.


ahhh. That feels a little better now.

11 comments:

ainge lotusland said...

haha albertans getting $300 each so they can blow it on booze and eddie bauer clothes, or whatever you folk do...

squandered opportunity, indeed.

Jay Currie said...

Whatever you do make sure that the icky, know nothing people don't get their hands on the money. Indeed it might make sense to raise taxes to take a little of the irrational exhuberance out of the Alberta economy.

And, hey, that statute thing? Probably a better idea than ninety percent of the projects which the government will come up with to use up the money it will not give to its spendthrift citizenry.

Allie Wojtaszek said...

I dunno. I could use a 300.00 cheque right before Christmas. AND I still think we'd have more than enough money to do all those other things you said as well. It's more the point of someone convincing the right people to do it.

Nastyboy said...

I agree. I just put up a similar rant on my blog. It's not as long as yours because I ain't that bright and hate/fear big words, but the gist is the same.

interlocutor said...

I think daveberta's suggestion of the giant statue is excellent. Perhaps some of the other principals in this sad play (Love, West & Oberg spring immediately to mind) could also be immortalized, indeed with statues all around our fair province.

Better still, if the statues were solidly cast in precious metals we would at least retain the option of melting them down in the event of some sort of "rainy day".

daveberta said...

It's not that we wouldn't like a $300 rebate cheque. Hey, we'd like a Porsche as well. How about a free trip to Disneyland for every Albertan?

Just because we can afford it, it doesn't mean it's a smart thing to do.

When we talk about re-investing, we're talking about essential institutions which already exist that have been slashed back to barebones budgets at the cost of the individual. ie: Schools, Colleges, Universities.

How does us getting a $300 rebate cheque inhance our quality of life in Alberta?

It's all about not sqwandering all the dough away like Alberta did last time things were looking "this good."

daveberta said...

And just for the record, we do think a 40-foot bronze statue of Rod Love in Churchill Square wouldn't do him any justice now that he has entered his post-moustache period. It would have to be pre-moustache period statue.

AWGB said...

I like
Matt's idea.

AWGB said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
AWGB said...

Man, I struggle. I meant THIS idea.

Anonymous said...

The money that we are recieving is our money... we deserve it, and if people want to invest it they can but I think we should have that chioce.