Let me ask you a question: are Albertans spoiled?
Before I go any further, I'd like to preface this post by saying this is something that came out of a few recent conversations where I've played the part of devil's advocate. I'm simply offering another viewpoint on this whole situation, maybe a more simplistic one. Here it goes...
Alberta's in the midst of what might become one of the most contentious budget discussions I've ever seen. To sum it up, the province is saying "some tough decisions will have to be made", meaning there's a cash-flow problem (blame it on revenues or spending, everyone has their opinion on that and I'm not going to touch that one with a ten-foot pole).
Now here's where things get dicey. We have a wish-list the length of the Keystone XL pipeline. You name it and someone wants money. Just look at how many promises and issues were addressed during the last election campaign.
Say what you will about whether too many promises were made, but let's face a few facts here as well. Alberta is still trying to catch up from the boom of five years ago (and some would argue we're still semi-booming). That means we're still building hospitals, roads, schools and all the other infrastructure you and I need. Why are we building it? Because we had so many people move into the province over the last few years, building homes and setting up businesses in new communities within towns and cities all across Alberta.
Don't get me wrong. The province spent a LOT of money over the course of the original boom trying to keep up. And that's where I think at least part of the problem is. Is it possible for Alberta to catch up on all of the original projects that needed to be done, plus continue the regular up-keep plus put new projects on the books, all without facing the budgetary consequences?
So we have all these factors weighing in, plus you have a ton of promises that "need to be kept", and if they're not, someone's going to end up being the bad guy. That's where I wonder if we're not just a little bit spoiled. It feels like there's this expectation that we're going to get the best of everything, but get it for the least amount of dollars.
Call me simplistic, but I'm one of those people that doesn't spend a lot of money if I don't have it. I have one credit card with about $200 on it. My loan and vehicle are paid off. I don't own a house but that'll be down the road when I can afford to take the plunge. Somewhere along the line, it feels like Albertans forgot about that aspect of it, as they wanted everything delivered on a silver platter. And now that the silver platter looks rusty and scuffed up, they want their money back.
