Doug's Blog

I have been reflecting upon a quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower, “A people that values its privilege above its principles, soon loses both.” I found it interesting partially because of my trip to Guatemala in the spring to help build houses for the poor. It is there that I became acutely aware of just how good we have it here. In fact, if you have a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, and food in a refrigerator, you are richer than 75% of the population of the rest of the world. The other part of my interest in the quote came from the dismay I felt when I returned to find so many angry people complaining that their lives were so awful in this province.

Everywhere I go I hear about how the government needs to spend more. Everything... I am lead to believe, is short-funded and short-changed and needs to be fixed, built, financed and supported right now. There seems to be the impression that the almost $200 Billion spent in the last 7 years was not enough, but if we had just collected that $6 Billion more (1), everything would be ok. And if we could collect and spend $1.4 to $2 Billion more than the almost $40 Billion a year we currently spend, it would meet all of our health care, education, infrastructure and savings needs. Is this really about addressing our needs, though, or is it more about addressing our wants.

The government of Alberta needs to get its spending in check and save for the future, so that we can even out the violent revenue cycles inherent in resource based economies like ours. We are spending more than any other jurisdiction in North America at almost $11,000 per person. That’s no small change in world where if you have a bank account, money in a wallet, and change in a dish someplace you are in the top 8% of the world’s wealthy. Yet we continue to focus our attention on getting more and having more. Indeed, many young people are making incredible money in this hot economy but they are still living paycheck to paycheck because they buy more and more of what they think they need, when in reality they are really buying the ‘toy’s they want (2). If we don’t all get this under control surely we will all be parading new bumper stickers that say, “Whoops, I did it again.”

So Albertans and the government need to ask themselves, is this really about how much we collect, or is this about how much we spend? Or maybe the better question is not around how much we spend, but around how much we expect and demand. Maybe we need to quit starting our sentences with, “In a province this rich...”, and then go on to demand the government provide more. Maybe we need to remember and recognize the meaning of JFK’s immortal words, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Maybe we need to realize that we are always building for the future and that this is not about what we can get from others and the government, but rather what we can give back to build for the next generation and the future.

I think we need to forgo some privileges and try not to forget just how good we have it. We need to go back to our principles of hard work, self reliance, and fiscal prudence. We need to do this now before we lose both and wind up with nothing but memories of another boom gone bust. We need to do this now before we are forced to undergo another painful round of cuts and slashes as we did at the end of the last boom. If we don’t, we will deserve the fate we get and we will have no one to blame for it but ourselves. Know this; even if I am the only one, I will continue to speak this message for the sake of my son Austin’s future, and the futures of all Alberta’s sons and daughters.

Thank you.