Thursday, July 2, 2009

Conserve energy and money while waiting for Plan B

I recently read the province of Alberta is “bleeding red ink at a rate never before seen” and that “government job cuts or tax increases appear to be a certainty.”

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090629/alberta_deficit_090629/20090629?hub=Politics

Why is our wealthiest province in a septic tank load of trouble?

It’s complicated, but I’ll give it a try:

- the Premier set Alberta’s budget based on the old price of natural gas

- the new price is lower because demand is down

- demand is down because of the recession, something Premier Stelmach, Prime Minister Harper and Finance Minister Flatulence denied for over a year

- nurses and educators will lose their jobs because of government reliance on the market economy and their belief it will behave properly

My opinion:

- government leaders should pay, not nurses and educators

[I don't suggest you hold your breath waiting for this to happen. It's funny, but the only thing you'll accomplish is turn your face blue. Sorry, I digress.]

- we should not be so reliant on a market based economy but lean more heavily on sustainable products

- we should reduce spending in as many areas as possible, save for worse times ahead, and reduce our dependence upon fossil fuels

- market economists and politicians will not tell you when even worse times are around the corner

Once fossils fuels are gone, there is no Plan B [Really, is anyone on your street fueling their house or car with green fuel i.e. from algae or french fry oil? Not on my block.]

***

Do you have savings account?

Isn’t it time you started one?

.

1 comment:

Theresa said...

When the recession/depression started, I remember thinking quite clearly that Alberta and most Albertans were in serious denial about the whole thing, and that "the bigger they are, the harder they fall." Alberta is starting to fall, and the government is being completely reactionary, as usual: Fear-mongering, slashing spending and denigrating anyone who speaks out against it, in true "if you're not with us, you're against us" style. It would be comical if it wasn't so sad. I'm at the point where I'm actually considering moving out of the province again. The current Alberta government is gutting and demoralizing the province and its people, and yet, they will still vote Conservative in large numbers when the next election rolls around. It seems there is a never ending supply of delusion.