NDP recklessly charges ahead, putting businesses under

[The Green Barbarian]

It's my opinion that at worst, the Alberta NDP are the victims of bad timing. .

No, the people of Alberta are victims of bad voting, and now bad government. The NDP is awful, no matter what state the economy may be in at the time they find a jurisdiction dumb enough to give them a majority. If you don't believe me, go talk to a Manitoban.

[The Green Barbarian]

They are short sighted policies from a shortsighted party that knows they are gone next election so better grab it all while the grabbing is good.

According to Manitoba friends of mine, a lot of rats left the Manitoba NDP rat ship last year and jumped aboard the NDP gravy train in Edmonton. The NDP motto is "why hire 2 people to the job of 2 people when you can hire 5". In three years those NDP rats are going to have to find another ship to jump to (including head rat Brian Topp), and I really hope it isn't BC.

[Gone_Fishin]

It's my opinion that at worst, the Alberta NDP are the victims of bad timing. The oil price crash would have thrown a huge wrench into the works no matter who was in power.

We were told that about the BC NDP, too. That they had taken charge when the Canadian economy was on the rocks, and there was no way anything was their fault. Well, that too has been debunked.


Real Per Capita GDP Growth 1992 - 2000

Nfld: 33.6%
SK: 27.3%
AB: 27%
ON: 24.2%
PQ: 22.3%
NB: 21.6%

PEI: 18.6%
MB: 17.5%
NS: 16.2%

BC: 5.3%


Source: Statistics Canada, Provincial Economic Accounts

[fluffy]

Math test for NDPers:

Fluffy's bill for gasoline was $1,000 last month. This month, his bill for gasoline is $1,200.

By what percentage did Fluffy's gas bill increase?

A.) 2%
B.) 20%
C.) Don't use such big numbers, they make my head hurt!

Or:

Fluffy made $100K last year and paid ten percent of that in taxes which was $10K. This year he will make the same $100K (because he's still working and making a decent buck despite the NDP coming into power) but will pay 12% in taxes, or $12K, which is an additional two percent of his income. It could also be described as twenty percent more tax than he paid last year. Both representations are technically correct, which one you choose to use would depend on factors like whether you want to project an unbiased picture, or whether you have a life-size poster of Ezra Levant on the ceiling over your bed.

[Veovis]

calling it 2% isn't an unbiased presentation either so I assume one group will have the Ezra posters and the other Notley posters.

[fluffy]

I work in Alberta. Sure there has been a noticeable slowdown, it is tied to the oil price, and it was well underway before the NDP took power. I worked steady up until the oil price crash set in in a big way. Christmas of 2014 was where it took hold, and the first of a string of layoffs for me. The NDP took power in early May of that year, just when it was sinking in that this might not be a temporary burp. It's easy to criticize the government in power if one is given to blaming the government for everything. but as much as the Gwedes on this site love to criticize every move the NDP make they are woefully short on what any other government could be doing to make up for lost tax revenue and keep the economic ball rolling as best they can.

[The Green Barbarian]

, which one you choose to use would depend on factors like whether you want to project an unbiased picture, or whether you have a life-size poster of Ezra Levant on the ceiling over your bed.

How the hell is one version more "unbiased" then the other? What a crock of crap. Now I am convinced that you have a life-sized picture of Notley over your bed. Just barf.

[fluffy]

Okay, let's just leave IT at "The NDP raised the corporate tax rate from 10% to 12%" and dispense with any bias at all. What really counts is how many more dollars will be coming out of Joe taxpayer's pocket and how that is going to affect him.

Back to my more recent post, if you're so convinced that another government could do better, how would they be doing it?

[oneh2obabe]

Enough with taking potshots at one another. GET. BACK. ON. TOPIC.

[The Green Barbarian]

Back to my more recent post, if you're so convinced that another government could do better, how would they be doing it?

If they have to raise taxes, to make up for the revenue loss from oil and gas, put in a sales tax. Everyone else has it. I have yet to see an intelligent argument put forward that says that sales taxes are bad, in fact they are extremely fair as they are based on consumption. I would rather see a sales tax than a stupidly conceived increase in corporate or personal taxes, and this carbon tax is the dumbest possible thing the NDP could have done as it harms the poor, all to push an idiotic fantasy agenda about something that doesn't even exist, man-made climate change. Just pure garbage. Put in a sales tax, cut spending (not dramatically increase it by hiring thousands of idiot NDP cronies to fill a massive new bureaucracy that no one needs) and ride out the storm. That's what you do. Above all, don't bow to the morons and boneheads out there demanding carbon taxes.

[fluffy]

Put in a sales tax, cut spending (not dramatically increase it by hiring thousands of idiot NDP cronies to fill a massive new bureaucracy that no one needs) and ride out the storm. That's what you do. Above all, don't bow to the morons and boneheads out there demanding carbon taxes.

The previous government suggestesd a sales tax, as well as charging premiums on Alberta's currently free healthcare. The electorate made it abundantly clear that that is not what they want. A sales tax hits everyone regardless of their ability to pay, the NDP's raise in personal income tax kicks in at an earning level of $125K/yr., sparing the lower income brackets who can less afford it. The corporate tax rate has been held artificially low for years, the increase to 12% brings it closer to, but still lower than, the national average.

Whether you agree with it or not, a significant portion of voters want to see more attention paid to environmental concerns. A carbon tax targets those who produce greenhouse gases, and while not a huge financial burden to those paying it, it still has the effect of pacifying environmentally concerned voters. Politicians aren't as quick as you to ignore the concerns of voters, especially when their numbers have swelled to the point where they can sway an election.

[Rwede]

Sales taxes don't negatively affect the poor because they can be designed to rebate based on income level, like the GST.

Carbon taxes absolutely kill the poor. The essentials of heating your home, food transport, fueling your car to go to work - those are all jacked up in price with a carbon tax. Businesses hit with carbon taxes flow them through to consumers, and that hits the poor (as well as everyone else!).

My natural gas bill last month had more carbon tax than cost of gas. *bleep*! I can afford it, but how do poor people deal with buying a necessity for life that costs more in carbon tax than for the product itself? It's bloody ridiculous!

The NDP is completely clueless. The GDP effect of the NDP is clearly illustrated in the figures above.

[The Green Barbarian]

Whether you agree with it or not, a significant portion of voters want to see more attention paid to environmental concerns. .

and taxing "carbon" is about the dumbest possible way to "pay more attention" to these fake issues. Let's just screw over the poor to feel good about ourselves that we are doing so much to solve a fake problem. Yeah us.

[Rwede]

If government addressed such things as fish and wildlife habitat issues, they would be doing something meaningful about the environment.

Instead, the Liberals are cutting funding, laying off scientists, and taxing poor people with regressive carbon taxes.

Who here thinks that jacking up the heating bills of poor people during the winter helps the environment?

[hobbyguy]

Increases in GDP do NOT necessarily translate into benefits for the average citizen nor for government revenues.

IF the price of oil goes from $40 to $44 GDP goes up. Big whoop! There would be no increase in employment and almost no impact on government coffers. GDP only matters to "Wall St.", it has been largely disconnected from "Main St." by "Wall St." and globalization.

VAT and sales taxes most definitely do affect poor folks, and disproportionately so.

The GST rebate is not much more than a political ploy, and a very expensive one at that. It does help a bit for poor folks, and I won't understate that, but it comes nowhere near to compensating them for the true costs of VAT, let alone the costs of the market distortions and knock-ons it introduces.