[bootlegga]

$1:

On Sunday morning, April Fool's Day, Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith announced that "if elected, a Wildrose government will begin negotiations to merge Alberta with the province of Saskatchewan."

On Monday, Smith announced that if elected, she would give every Albertan a cheque for $300 through what she called "the Alberta Energy Dividend."

One of these ideas, of course, is a laugh-out-loud joke that should not be taken seriously. The other would merge Alberta with the province of Saskatchewan.

Smith's plan for an "energy dividend" is a retread of Ralph Klein's $400 "prosperity bonus" cheque mailed out in 2006. The $1.3-billion worth of "Ralphbucks" were a bad idea then and spending a billion dollars on "Smithbucks" or the more alliterative "Danielle Dollars" is a bad idea now.

They are a cynical attempt to buy favour with the public using the public's own money. Both reek of political desperation. That was understandable for Klein who, when he made the prosperity bonus promise in 2005, was losing public support and was trying to curry favour with his party in advance of a 2006 leadership review. It didn't work. In the review, Klein received a dismal 55-per-cent approval rating from Conservative party members, which speeded his retirement.

Desperate, though, is not an adjective you'd apply to Smith these days. She is cheerful, confident and leading a party in a virtual tie with the Conservatives heading to an election just three weeks away. Her energy dividend cheques look like something dreamed up before the campaign got underway, before the Wildrose realized it might actually win the election. It is a promise made by a second-place campaign desperate for headlines.

In that, the "Danielle Dollars" are a success. They certainly have grabbed headlines and gotten people talking. And there will be people who like the idea of the government sending them a $300 cheque, just as there were people who welcomed the "Ralphbucks" back in the day.

Of 800 people surveyed by Ipsos-Reid back then, 47 per cent liked the rebates. But 48 per cent thought the money should be spent on provincial priorities such as education and health. Business leaders argued in favour of tax cuts for lower income Albertans; analysts said the money should be saved for the future. Other than putting $1.3 billion into a pile and setting it on fire, economists thought spending money on "Ralphbucks" the worst of all opportunity costs.

But, as Smith knows, there are a lot more Albertans who like prosperity bonuses or energy dividends than there are economists.

What Smith's promise does, though, is focus attention on the growing list of Wildrose fiscal promises. A Wildrose government would increase the $15-billion Heritage Fund to $200 billion in 20 years. It would scrap mandatory school fees and deliver a $200-peryear child tax credit while also offering a $500 culture, arts and sports tax credit. It will do all that while balancing the budget and increasing spending on health and education. Naturally, the only way taxes will go in a Wildrose government is down. And they'll give everybody a $300 cheque from provincial surplus money.

If they can do all that, perhaps they deserve to be elected.

The operative word here is "if."

One of the big differences between "Ralphbucks" and "Smithbucks" is that Klein made the promise, and fulfilled it, in the same fiscal year when he knew he had the money. Smith is making a promise for 2015 based on rosy forecasts for the price of oil and gas.

She is trying to buy your vote today with a promise that will be delivered in three years, if at all. And even if she is elected and delivers on the promise, it is delivering on one that reeks of political opportunism. Wild rosers are stooping to the same level the Tories did in 2006.

"Wildrose believes that Albertans can spend their own money better than government," said Smith in a news release. "That is precisely why we've got a plan to put more money back in their pockets instead of government coffers."

It is a promise based on cynicism, that all governments are at best wasteful and at worst corrupt. Following Smith's logic, why not give us all the money and let us spend it as we see fit on education, health or a vacation in Hawaii?

It is a promise that has allowed Conservative Leader Alison Redford to, after days of being on the defensive, attack the Wildrose for having a hidden agenda to cut government services.

"The question must be asked, if there are these daily announcements without understanding or being prepared to explain the overall framework, where do we end up losing?" said Redford. "Where do we end up making those hard choices? And my fear is we end up making them around education, around health care, around infrastructure."

Smith is saying we can have it all - lower taxes, higher spending and a chicken in every pot.

She is playing simplistic, cynical politics - but Conservatives can't get overly outraged. Smith is simply playing a game the Conservatives have been playing for years.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/alb ... story.html

[Thanos]

$1:

Smith is saying we can have it all - lower taxes, higher spending and a chicken in every pot.

Newt Gingrich politics, who put together an economic platform in his campaign that economists said would increase the debt and deficit even worse than George W. Bush did.

Alberta's truly fucked when this stealth TeaParty gets in. Hoo boy, just bend over and spread 'em.

[Yogi]

Both parties are going to have to ask some very hard questions, and provide real solid answers in the debate on the 12th. Going to be interesting for sure!

***Why start another thread on the same subject?***

[dino_bobba_renno]

Thanos Thanos:

$1:

Smith is saying we can have it all - lower taxes, higher spending and a chicken in every pot.

Newt Gingrich politics, who put together an economic platform in his campaign that economists said would increase the debt and deficit even worse than George W. Bush did.

Alberta's truly fucked when this stealth TeaParty gets in. Hoo boy, just bend over and spread 'em.

Ya, ol' Daniel has made a lot promises with little description of where she plans on getting the dough from to pay for it all. I really do think the PC's need a swift kick in the ass but the more I hear from the Wild Rose the more worried I get and the really scary part is that they are way ahead in the polls.

[bootlegga]

dino_bobba_renno dino_bobba_renno:

Thanos Thanos:

$1:

Smith is saying we can have it all - lower taxes, higher spending and a chicken in every pot.

Newt Gingrich politics, who put together an economic platform in his campaign that economists said would increase the debt and deficit even worse than George W. Bush did.

Alberta's truly fucked when this stealth TeaParty gets in. Hoo boy, just bend over and spread 'em.

Ya, ol' Daniel has made a lot promises with little description of where she plans on getting the dough from to pay for it all. I really do think the PC's need a swift kick in the ass but the more I hear from the Wild Rose the more worried I get and the really scary part is that they are way ahead in the polls.

Yep, for me it's a case of the devil you know vs. the devil you don't - plus Redford is a far better candidate than Smith.

[FieryVulpine]

My main problem with the PCs (other than the fact Alison Redford has the intelligence of a brick) is that the party is about as fresh as a ten-year-old corpse. Given Alberta's propensity for electing political dynasties, I get the impression that more than a few Albertans believe it is time to pull out the welcome mat on the PCs and tell Wildrose to come on in. Economic policy be damned.

[Proculation]

I went to a conference in Montreal where Danielle Smith was invited. She was speaking more of her vision of Canada and the equalization program and she was wondering why Quebec was not developing its natural resources like natural gas and oil while begging for more money from Alberta and spitting on their oil sands in international conferences (i.e. Charest in Copenhagen). She made really good impression in the crowd. I don't know much about the whole program she's offering to Alberta but just for that, I hope she get elected.

[bootlegga]

FieryVulpine FieryVulpine:

My main problem with the PCs (other than the fact Alison Redford has the intelligence of a brick) is that the party is about as fresh as a ten-year-old corpse. Given Alberta's propensity for electing political dynasties, I get the impression that more than a few Albertans believe it is time to pull out the welcome mat on the PCs and tell Wildrose to come on in. Economic policy be damned.

The intelligence of a brick? yeah, most lawyers who work for the UN, Canadian government and other international organizations are usually incredibly stupid.

On the other hand, people who can't hack being on a school board and get fired after a year and then take up a career in journalism are usually intellectual giants.

/sarcasm off

[Gunnair]

I'd like to say I'm jealous of you folk, but all the fun you are having is a unpalatable taste of our election next year with our trifecta of excitement - Dix, Clark, and Cummins.

[FieryVulpine]

bootlegga bootlegga:

-snip-

Don't mind me. I'm just on the troller coaster.

But a lawyer for the federal government and the UN? No wonder Alison Redford seems so interchangeable with any other faceless bureaucrat.

[SprCForr]

Which, for a big chunk of rural Alberta, is enough for her to be turfed out.