Oh, dear NDP...
This is a blog I never should have dropped.
Even if I'd just kept it for my own purposes so I could have an easy reference of the ridiculous decisions and actions the Alberta NDP have made since coming into power.
But I didn't. So I need to start with what I have.
What caught my eye today was the amazingly, caring, charitable thing they're doing by opening a youth mental health facility. That will cost something like $200 million.
Even though the province's deficit this fiscal year is estimated at being over $7 BILLION, with a debt over $50 billion.
Yes, that's billions of dollars in both situations.
Every time there has been less of an anticipated deficit, more "money available", the NDP have turned around and spent more.
While I can give them kudos for doing hiring freezes (although, really, let's be real: there should have been staffing reductions, but, hey, it's the NDP and they feel responsible for everybody having a job) and pay freezes, that really amounts to so little when you look at what they're spending. For a party that tries to care about everybody, they don't seem to really think about the consequences.
Example: The majority of teachers across the province have been working without a contract for over 2.5 years. Edmonton Public School teachers are one of those sets of teachers. They've had the same pay grid since 2015, a pay that gave them a 2% increase which didn't even cover the inflation rate at the time (note: Edmonton's inflation rate last year was said to be 3.1% just for 2018). That means it's been about 4 years since their last raise. Four years of inflation causing the price of basic necessities to go up, but no pay raise to cover. Now, to be fair, Alberta's teachers are among the best paid in the country. But it's not just teachers affected by the salary freezes. Herein lies the problem:
The government is asking people to make cuts to their personal spending to cover inflation, while they are seemingly hell bent on finding ways to spend money they don't even have.
Is it just a coincidence that this latest spending announcement comes on what must be the eve of an election?
I do hope Albertans will rally together to make sure the NDP will not win again.
Btw, if you've got some great articles to share about mistakes the NDP has made over the past few years, please share them. It's too easy for people to see warm fuzzy stuff before an election and forget past experience.
Even if I'd just kept it for my own purposes so I could have an easy reference of the ridiculous decisions and actions the Alberta NDP have made since coming into power.
But I didn't. So I need to start with what I have.
What caught my eye today was the amazingly, caring, charitable thing they're doing by opening a youth mental health facility. That will cost something like $200 million.
Even though the province's deficit this fiscal year is estimated at being over $7 BILLION, with a debt over $50 billion.
Yes, that's billions of dollars in both situations.
Every time there has been less of an anticipated deficit, more "money available", the NDP have turned around and spent more.
While I can give them kudos for doing hiring freezes (although, really, let's be real: there should have been staffing reductions, but, hey, it's the NDP and they feel responsible for everybody having a job) and pay freezes, that really amounts to so little when you look at what they're spending. For a party that tries to care about everybody, they don't seem to really think about the consequences.
Example: The majority of teachers across the province have been working without a contract for over 2.5 years. Edmonton Public School teachers are one of those sets of teachers. They've had the same pay grid since 2015, a pay that gave them a 2% increase which didn't even cover the inflation rate at the time (note: Edmonton's inflation rate last year was said to be 3.1% just for 2018). That means it's been about 4 years since their last raise. Four years of inflation causing the price of basic necessities to go up, but no pay raise to cover. Now, to be fair, Alberta's teachers are among the best paid in the country. But it's not just teachers affected by the salary freezes. Herein lies the problem:
The government is asking people to make cuts to their personal spending to cover inflation, while they are seemingly hell bent on finding ways to spend money they don't even have.
Is it just a coincidence that this latest spending announcement comes on what must be the eve of an election?
I do hope Albertans will rally together to make sure the NDP will not win again.
Btw, if you've got some great articles to share about mistakes the NDP has made over the past few years, please share them. It's too easy for people to see warm fuzzy stuff before an election and forget past experience.
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