Triple A to Double A

[Badback]

Well this didn't take long...

http://calgaryherald.com/news/politi...vincial-budget

[elkhunter11]

Even the banks are losing confidence in Alberta because of the NDP budget.

[hal53]

Probably because our Finance Minister is such an "inter-lectual"......

[pseelk]

Originally Posted by hal53

Probably because our Finance Minister is such an "inter-lectual"......

You noticed that too!

[super7mag]

Originally Posted by pseelk

You noticed that too!

Haha I thought I was hearing things and he said it again !

[CaberTosser]

Its much like when a teenager who has never demonstrated responsibility gets ahold of their parents credit card and goes wild at the mall and online, the thing is we won't be able to return anything and will have to pay it all off. Barely any of them will see a second term in office and the NDP will return to their rightful place as the voice of the sub-opposition seated way in the back waving their arms for attention while saying "Ohh!, Ohh! Mr Kotter, Mr Kotter!". But we'll still be paying for it all well after their term as majority government is history.

[sns2]

Hope for pipelines east and west, followed by a reversal on Keystone. Then a war in the middle east to top it all off, returning oil to $100 barrel.

[rugatika]

What an embarrassment. So sad to see this happening to this province.

[Twist]

Originally Posted by rugatika

What an embarrassment. So sad to see this happening to this province.

Agreed Rug.

Totally out of line what the ndp ard doing.

[roper1]

Could see this coming for a while. When Moody's joins in, hopefully the alarm bells will start to go off, hopefully not too late.

[Sloughsharkjigger]

The first rule of problem solving is to come to the table with a solution. Until all the malcontent's propose a viable fix the best thing is to stay in the corner.

Yeah yeah, stop spending when you don't have the money, blah, blah, blah. these are common first words out of a dictators mouth.

No more wood for you just poke the coals.

[Don K]

Originally Posted by super7mag

Haha I thought I was hearing things and he said it again !

Sad thing is he is one of the best they have... Man I wonder how people could have been so STUPID to vote them in...

[waldedw]

Is anyone really surprised by this ?????????? truthfully we all knew where we were headed once the NDP was elected, and nothing that they do should really surprise us, but the damage that they will do in 4 years will take 20 years to repair, kind of like getting caught in a rain storm, it once takes a minute to get soaked but 1 hour to dry off once the sun comes out again

[Twist]

Originally Posted by waldedw

Is anyone really surprised by this ?????????? truthfully we all knew where we were headed once the NDP was elected, and nothing that they do should really surprise us, but the damage that they will do in 4 years will take 20 years to repair, kind of like getting caught in a rain storm, it once takes a minute to get soaked but 1 hour to dry off once the sun comes out again

Yes. A rain storm of fire and brimstone is what the ndp bring.

[wellpastcold]

Originally Posted by sns2

Hope for pipelines east and west, followed by a reversal on Keystone. Then a war in the middle east to top it all off, returning oil to $100 barrel.

Good ideas! How did $100 a barrel oil help the previous government? Oh yeah deficit 8 out of 9 years.

[Scott h]

Originally Posted by wellpastcold

Good ideas! How did $100 a barrel oil help the previous government? Oh yeah deficit 8 out of 9 years.

Well I guess by the election results most everyone probably can agree that the previous government had a little "spending" problem. Fair enough. Times were good and Alberta was awash with cash for longer than many in the province could remember. Kids were being raised by young parents that had never seen the day when they couldn't quit there job and walk down the street and get another one (probably making more $$). So with that in mind those working for the government (nurses, teachers, cops, firemen, etc) expected the same. And really why shouldn't they???
Fast forward to 2016 and it's a different story. The current government claims that it is not there fault that there was not enough money saved. That's true. They claim it's not there fault that the spending was through the roof. That's true. But they rightly complain about the previous governments spending habits and then MAKE IT WORSE !!!!! That's were the moral high ground falls off. Albertas public sector workers make the highest wages in the country on the excuse that everyone in the province was making more than other provinces. Well now the reverse should be true. A simple 5% rollback in the public wage schedule would help balance the budget, prevent future layoffs, help keep bond raters from down grading and most importantly it would make everyone in the province feel like EVERYONE'S sharing in the pain (after all they wanted to share in the gain).....

[super7mag]

Originally Posted by wellpastcold

Good ideas! How did $100 a barrel oil help the previous government? Oh yeah deficit 8 out of 9 years.

I guess the difference is the Tax base was there , if spending would have been reined in 3-4-5-6 years ago they PC's could have had balanced budgets and paid down the dept. but people wanted free stuff, hospitals , schools , roads .. And lets face it they found ways to drain money like never before with very little to show for it. New fire halls that can't be staffed, the hospital in Sherwood park that can't be staffed, the new RCMP building in Lloyd that was two years behind schedule and cost twice as much as budgeted . That's just off the top of my head.
Rachel's plan does not fix any of this and they made things worse and have no plan other then spend spend spend my children's , children will be paying for this crap.
Unfortantly the idea that we have a limitless gold card that someone else can pay off is running rampant thru all levels of Government, civic , Prov, and Fed.
But the freeloaders have hit the jackpot, affordable housing for deadbeats and drug dealers will be great job creation. Not sure who will pay for the up keep years down the road.

[qwert]

Originally Posted by Sloughsharkjigger

The first rule of problem solving is to come to the table with a solution. Until all the malcontent's propose a viable fix the best thing is to stay in the corner.

Yeah yeah, stop spending when you don't have the money, blah, blah, blah. these are common first words out of a dictators mouth.

No more wood for you just poke the coals.

Hegelian dialectic,
problem, reaction, solution.

The first task of those wishing change, is to create a crisis that requires it.

"Never let a serious crisis go to waste.
And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before." Rahm Emanuel

Good Luck, YMMV.

[couleefolk]

I can't say all parties are they same, but had the fine folks of Alberta looked at how the NDP has left Manitoba, the writing would have been on the wall in neon lights and flashing lights around that. I hope Alberta can turn things around before it becomes another Manitoba. Good luck!

[Suka]

Two down, one to go. Only Moody's left. Should start a pool on when they downgrade it, kind of like guessing the birth date of a baby. You know someone's going to win the pool as it's going to happen without a doubt.

[3blade]

Originally Posted by Scott h

Well I guess by the election results most everyone probably can agree that the previous government had a little "spending" problem. Fair enough. Times were good and Alberta was awash with cash for longer than many in the province could remember. Kids were being raised by young parents that had never seen the day when they couldn't quit there job and walk down the street and get another one (probably making more $$). So with that in mind those working for the government (nurses, teachers, cops, firemen, etc) expected the same. And really why shouldn't they???
Fast forward to 2016 and it's a different story. The current government claims that it is not there fault that there was not enough money saved. That's true. They claim it's not there fault that the spending was through the roof. That's true. But they rightly complain about the previous governments spending habits and then MAKE IT WORSE !!!!! That's were the moral high ground falls off. Albertas public sector workers make the highest wages in the country on the excuse that everyone in the province was making more than other provinces. Well now the reverse should be true. A simple 5% rollback in the public wage schedule would help balance the budget, prevent future layoffs, help keep bond raters from down grading and most importantly it would make everyone in the province feel like EVERYONE'S sharing in the pain (after all they wanted to share in the gain).....

Your comments aren't out of the relm of possibility (5% rollback), the answers you are going to get are:

1) a nurse with 25 years of experience, taking care of critically sick patients, was making less than an 18 y/o eastern import flopping around a rig, who wasn't paying much in taxes, for 10 years....so stuff it. The public sector didn't share much of the gain, and took most of the blame for everything during conservative rule, so don't expect a lot of sympathy. Highest paid in Canada was barely enough to get by in our overheated market.

2) look at the waste in upper management (NOT front line managers, those have been cut to the bone already). Ralph and his cronies had a policy of making public healthcare look bad, so as to sell it to American insurance companies. This included changing everything, all the time, and pizzing away as much money as possible especially where they could stuff it into their political allies pockets. Duckett, Sherwood park, the Hui center, et al are great examples of this. As are the 80-some VP's. And yes, the current government continues this sad tradition.

The pigs at the trough are NOT the people on the front lines. Good luck getting governments to spend less on themselves, or people who have been serving while getting stabbed in the back to agree to roll backs now that they have a "friendly" government.

Funny how it looks depending on which side of the fence you're on. I've been on both sides. And I know that neither situation ends well. Such is the price of left vs right sheeple herding instead of a represantive democracy.

[Redfrog]

I told you so.

Where's the free stuff?

The NDP campaigned on "Change' and left Albertans with change.

The NDp were supposed to have a plan to fix the foulups of the PC. Well How's that working for all those people who voted for them?

Funny after the election there was a lot of people posting here supporting the NDp. They must all be out looking for work. The same applies to the ones who thought the painted pony was wonderful.

Oddly silent now.

[Sundancefisher]

What is wrong with building back up the massive debt servicing payments that many of our generation fought through the lean years to overcome...

If you are 50-60 years old the pain will pass as you head into retirement.

If you are 15-40 your pain is just beginning.

Debt. Borrowing.

It is like standing in a bucket trying pull yourself off the floor by the handle.

The governments are hoping for miracles in order to fix their deficit plans.

I can tell you right now that hope is not a strategy.

[3blade]

Originally Posted by Redfrog

I told you so.

Where's the free stuff?

The NDP campaigned on "Change' and left Albertans with change.

The NDp were supposed to have a plan to fix the foulups of the PC. Well How's that working for all those people who voted for them?

Funny after the election there was a lot of people posting here supporting the NDp. They must all be out looking for work. The same applies to the ones who thought the painted pony was wonderful.

Oddly silent now.

Wellll, it's like this....the old dog got surly and started biting. So we took him out behind the barn. Problem is, there weren't any dogs for sale and someone thought goats were cute, so that's what got bought as a replacement.

Now we sit here with an empty shotgun, an unprotected house, an angry wife and a herd of goats that eat her garden and can't fetch ducks.

We're stuck with it for three years, but I'd be willing to bet there won't be any more goats bought.

[Redfrog]

I'm baffled. The ndp have never done this kind of thing anywhere else they were elected.

It's almost like they have no clue, no experience and no plan to make life better for the people of Alberta. And yet she keeps grinning.

[fordtruckin]

dang... thought this was a thread about baseball...

[The Cook]

Originally Posted by super7mag

I guess the difference is the Tax base was there , if spending would have been reined in 3-4-5-6 years ago they PC's could have had balanced budgets and paid down the dept. but people wanted free stuff, hospitals , schools , roads .. And lets face it they found ways to drain money like never before with very little to show for it. New fire halls that can't be staffed, the hospital in Sherwood park that can't be staffed, the new RCMP building in Lloyd that was two years behind schedule and cost twice as much as budgeted . That's just off the top of my head.
Rachel's plan does not fix any of this and they made things worse and have no plan other then spend spend spend my children's , children will be paying for this crap.
Unfortantly the idea that we have a limitless gold card that someone else can pay off is running rampant thru all levels of Government, civic , Prov, and Fed.
But the freeloaders have hit the jackpot, affordable housing for deadbeats and drug dealers will be great job creation. Not sure who will pay for the up keep years down the road.

Are you serious? Free stuff? you want to tell us dummies where our taxes should be spent.

[The Cook]

Originally Posted by 3blade

Your comments aren't out of the relm of possibility (5% rollback), the answers you are going to get are:

1) a nurse with 25 years of experience, taking care of critically sick patients, was making less than an 18 y/o eastern import flopping around a rig, who wasn't paying much in taxes, for 10 years....so stuff it. The public sector didn't share much of the gain, and took most of the blame for everything during conservative rule, so don't expect a lot of sympathy. Highest paid in Canada was barely enough to get by in our overheated market.

2) look at the waste in upper management (NOT front line managers, those have been cut to the bone already). Ralph and his cronies had a policy of making public healthcare look bad, so as to sell it to American insurance companies. This included changing everything, all the time, and pizzing away as much money as possible especially where they could stuff it into their political allies pockets. Duckett, Sherwood park, the Hui center, et al are great examples of this. As are the 80-some VP's. And yes, the current government continues this sad tradition.

The pigs at the trough are NOT the people on the front lines. Good luck getting governments to spend less on themselves, or people who have been serving while getting stabbed in the back to agree to roll backs now that they have a "friendly" government.

Funny how it looks depending on which side of the fence you're on. I've been on both sides. And I know that neither situation ends well. Such is the price of left vs right sheeple herding instead of a represantive democracy.

^ ^ ^ Right on, couldn't agree more but you might pizz off all who think ralph was a saint and could do no wrong. Thank God I was working UNION during his reign and managed to survive the slash and burn attitude while lining his croneys pockets...

[JustMe]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

What is wrong with building back up the massive debt servicing payments that many of our generation fought through the lean years to overcome...



If you are 50-60 years old the pain will pass as you head into retirement.



If you are 15-40 your pain is just beginning.



Debt. Borrowing.



It is like standing in a bucket trying pull yourself off the floor by the handle.



The governments are hoping for miracles in order to fix their deficit plans.



I can tell you right now that hope is not a strategy.

100% on the 15-40 year olds, they will not only be paying higher taxes to cover decades of government mismanagement, but to support the retirees through their older years, being that governments at all levels have pi$$ed all the money those folks have contributed. Sad state of affairs that all the younger voters have let happen. Now you'll have to pay and pay......

[Scott h]

Originally Posted by 3blade

Your comments aren't out of the relm of possibility (5% rollback), the answers you are going to get are:

1) a nurse with 25 years of experience, taking care of critically sick patients, was making less than an 18 y/o eastern import flopping around a rig, who wasn't paying much in taxes, for 10 years....so stuff it. The public sector didn't share much of the gain, and took most of the blame for everything during conservative rule, so don't expect a lot of sympathy. Highest paid in Canada was barely enough to get by in our overheated market.

2) look at the waste in upper management (NOT front line managers, those have been cut to the bone already). Ralph and his cronies had a policy of making public healthcare look bad, so as to sell it to American insurance companies. This included changing everything, all the time, and pizzing away as much money as possible especially where they could stuff it into their political allies pockets. Duckett, Sherwood park, the Hui center, et al are great examples of this. As are the 80-some VP's. And yes, the current government continues this sad tradition.

The pigs at the trough are NOT the people on the front lines. Good luck getting governments to spend less on themselves, or people who have been serving while getting stabbed in the back to agree to roll backs now that they have a "friendly" government.

Funny how it looks depending on which side of the fence you're on. I've been on both sides. And I know that neither situation ends well. Such is the price of left vs right sheeple herding instead of a represantive democracy.

Sorry but I've been in Health care for OVER 25 years (Alberta and BC) and there is a TON of mismanagement. It starts at the very bottom and continues to the top level. If the general population was privy to many of the issues.......