It appears Rachel Notley’s government believes there is no second term in its future. You sure get that feeling from the way it has turned on the spending taps, full blast. Alberta will soon be in unprecedented debt territory. By the time Notley finishes her term Albertans will be saddled with a debt approaching $30 billion. No cuts to government services. No trimming of government bureaucracy. Tax increases for all. Not even the hint of a balanced budget until 2024. Unbridled spending. Damn the torpedoes. Damn the consequences.
What does this budget mean for Alberta business? Reducing the tax rate for small business from three to two per cent is essentially meaningless. The carbon tax, estimated to rake in $1.25 billion in revenue, will more than offset the tax rate reduction. The price of natural gas alone goes up almost 50 per cent with the tax, and with the hike in gasoline prices starting next year, operating costs will go up as suppliers will need to charge more for shipping their goods.
What does this budget mean for Albertans? It actually doesn’t matter if you’re in the top 40 per cent of wage earners, or in the bottom 60 per cent – everyone’s going to pay more. A single person making less than $47,500 per year and a family of four with an income of less than $95,000 per year, which comprise the bottom 60 per cent, can expect rebates ranging from about $200 to $540 per year, respectively. As for the top 40 per cent, quit your whining and just pay.
The idea, according to the NDP, is to change peoples’ fossil fuel consumption habits. Really? Whether you’re in the 60 per cent or the 40 per cent, everyone has to heat their home. Everyone has to purchase groceries. Everyone has to purchase clothing. All of these things, directly or indirectly, involve fossil fuels. When the price of gasoline rises next year – dubbed the carbon levy by the NDP – the price of goods and services must follow as costs will be passed on to the consumer. Is $540 for a family of four going to be enough to offset that family’s heating costs, grocery bills and transportation costs? The carbon tax is really a redistribution of wealth plan, not an emissions reduction plan. In fact, we’re not even being told what we can expect for GHG reduction from this tax.
For the first time in Alberta’s history, the province’s expenses will surpass $50 billion, coming in at $51.1 billion. The province’s revenues are nearly $10 billion less. And this reckless abandon will continue under the NDP. Like a kid who gets the family credit card and goes on a spending spree before his parents get the bill, perhaps Notley is simply going to spend it all before Albertans have a chance to right an absolute injustice in the next election. There is an unfortunate problem, though. The NDP have three more years to pile on the debt and taxes – and all Finance Minister Joe Ceci has offered Albertans is a fingers-crossed hope for a rebound in oil prices.
The ineptitude is palpable.
