| A new report says Albertans aren’t receiving the benefits from the province’s strong economy because of high inflation, stagnating wages and "crumbling" public services.
The report, by the University of Alberta’s Parkland Institute, places much of the blame for the problems on the provincial government. It links high inflation to the government’s electricity deregulation, and says the government doesn’t offer enough help to low-income earners or offer enough money to health care and education.
Trevor Harrison, the organization’s research director, says the provincial government’s record budget surpluses mask tough times for regular Albertans.
"The Alberta economy seems to be raking in an awful lot of money, but the average Albertan’s salary is still sitting at about $14 an hour. Where has this money gone?" he asks. "Why does it look like we’re continually in crisis and living on a shoestring?"
The report says Alberta’s real average hourly earning rate has changed little since 1991. Harrison says he doesn’t know why that number hasn’t changed, but suggests money from the booming economy is going to corporate profits or debt reduction rather than back to Albertans.
The report also says public investment in core areas is only now beginning to return to the levels seen before the government’s major cutbacks in the mid-’90s – for example, health care expenditures only climbed back to 1993 levels in 2001, education spending per student is still below 1987 levels and spending on social services hasn’t changed in 10 years, when it was cut by 20 per cent.
Harrison says the government should slow its aggressive debt payments and do more to help Albertans day-to-day.
"The Alberta government continues to be caught in an illusory debt trap," the report states.
"With the debt all but eliminated, these should be happy times in Alberta. Instead, Alberta’s debt has become for the current government a fetish it cannot escape."
Harrison did give the government credit for recent investments in education and infrastructure, and the creation of a budget hedge fund to stave off market volatility, but the report includes a list of recommendations, including:
· increase funding to education and post-secondary education;
· return to a progressive tax regime because the flat tax sees lower income Albertans pay more tax than other provinces;
· conduct arms-length reviews of electricity deregulation, public-private partnerships and oil and gas royalty rates.
The provincial government has stated that it remains committed to eliminating the province’s debt, but has also recognized the need for more funding in some areas – it points to its reinvestment of the 2002-2003 surplus into spending, rather than paying down the debt, as proof.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Finance didn’t return phone calls, but in a news release last month, Premier Ralph Klein stated that investing the surplus back into spending is a way of responding to Albertans’ needs.
"Every dollar of this surplus will be dedicated to priority areas for Albertans, beginning with a major new investment of $910 million to address pressing infrastructure needs in the province," Klein said.
Harrison, however, says the government needs to do more.
"If there is any province in Alberta that can strive for excellence in every area… it’s Alberta." |
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