NDP...DO NOT FIX WHAT ISN'T BROKEN

For 44 years the Progressive Conservatives have ruled Alberta. I believe all that needed to be done were 2 basic things in order for either a Progressive Conservative minority win or a Wildrose minority win. 

For the Progressives to have had Redford prosecuted like the Canadian senators. No IFS, ANDs, or BUTS about it. 

She took the Albertan taxpayers for millions and got away with it and the PCs allowed it. The gluttony of the Progressive Conservatives at its best shined through and allowing Ms. Redford to get away with abusing her title of Premier, that alone threw the voters in Alberta into defiance.

Danielle Smith screwed the Wildrose party so badly crossing the floor AFTER Redford burned the taxpayers. It was her biggest political mistake and she will go down in history as the dumbest leader of the opposition. 

The Wildrose Party would have taken this election BECAUSE of Redford, had the defectors not crossed the floor. They burned their bridges doing so and made it possible for a majority New Democratic Party win.

Albertans have shown that they are fed up with Progressive Conservative gluttony and with the Wildrose untrustworthiness...Liberals will not rule in Alberta and the Alberta Party are too new. 

With the defection of the Wildrose party leader and cohorts, Albertans saw a coalition between the Wildrose and the PCs happening if either had a minority government in this election and too many decided they did not want to see that happen, because of course…NOTHING gets done with a minority government and you end up going back to the polls in a year anyways with a minority government. 

With a minority NDP government the Wildrose and the PCs could have had a coalition to block anything that the New Democrats tried to do, even any good.

Change has to happen. Is this a good change? I have no clue, I have never lived with an NDP government, but that is not to say every NDP provincial leader cannot learn from the mistakes that others have made in other provinces.

All we can do is hope that the government is smart enough to do what only needs to be done and not overstep their bounds.

DO NOT FIX WHAT ISN'T BROKEN.

I know that the New Democrats like crown corporations, but…

Leave the roads and financing for the roads ALONE.

Leave the things that are working ALONE…

They are working and do not need your fingers in the mix.

ONLY FIX WHAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED.

Taxation has to be in degrees. Someone who makes $12/hour should not be paying the same tax rate as someone making $500/hour, but that person making $500/hour should not be paying more in taxes than corporations that are making billions and then laughing with their money as they run away.

Small business owners should not be paying huge amounts of money in taxes, like corporations, where they cannot make ends meet. These are the people who are hiring locals, paying employment benefits and pension plans, they do not deserve that. Keep taxes low for the small business owners.

But it is time for corporations to start paying their due. 

For instance, those heavy equipment operators drive huge trucks carrying huge loads of other equipment up and down highways; those highways take a beating from those trucks. You can see it in Saskatchewan. These companies are making billions off of the resources of our provinces and not putting money back into them. They use our roads to transport their heavy equipment and their oil.

The highways were not prepared for the Oil sands being opened to Oil companies in Saskatchewan and they are taking a thrashing. The Oil trucks were going 24/7 on these highways beating the crap out of them...That is where I stand by my statement of…

DO NOT MESS WITH THE ROADS!

Good luck NDP, you have the chance to make history with a GOOD socialist government example here in Canada. 

Don't screw it up.

Why Do Countries Trade?

Canada and the United States are allowing one family to decide that one of our natural resources is going to be worked, refined and sold off our continent and make BILLIONS doing this while ALLOWING another area of the world to do the same in North America?

Do you know how STUPID the voters of our countries sound right now?

We are allowing the bought and paid for politicians by the Koch brothers to decide what is done with our natural resources while allowing another country to profit off of our taxpayers.

Why do countries trade?

We have forgotten why we trade. Countries trade because we cannot get what we NEED where we are. We get it from other countries while giving those countries something they NEED in return.

Other than that, we should be self sufficient. If we can grow beets, we grow beets for ourselves, if we can raise livestock we raise it for ourselves and if we can harvest our oil or lumber we do so for ourselves BEFORE we sell it off to the highest bidder. This goes for all countries.

We TRADE for what we need. Canada has a particular climate that growing tropical fruit isn’t possible, so we trade for it. Canada can produce numerous amounts of potatoes…so which tropical country would like to trade potatoes for bananas?

Is that too simple? It is just an example. We have much, much more to offer here in Canada than potatoes, potash being one of the leading exports for our country.

The issue is we have made it about money and how much we can make instead about what we need to survive on.

An example, McDonalds in South America should use South American beef thus promoting their economy. McDonalds in North America should use North American beef for the same reason; along with every other restaurant in these countries.

“Free Trade” is not free to the average individual. It is costing us our self sufficiency. We are giving away our resources that our countries need to survive.

China’s greatest trade for many, MANY years was Silk. The Han dynasty TRADED it for things like cucumbers, walnuts and figs as well as new skills like using grapes for making wine. They brought new ideas, products and innovation to their lives to become more self-sufficient while selling something they had an abundance of.

Now, and for many years, the secret to producing silk has been out. What China has had to do is revamp what it trades. The problem, they are trading cheap labour to companies that take advantage of the over abundance of the population and the products that are made by that population. These companies make millions on cheaply made products that these people work hard at making. It is not only that the product is poorly made; it is that it is cheaply made and that has to do with the company…NOT the workers. 

We keep allowing companies to push our governments into “free trade” deals that allow companies to take our resources, natural or otherwise, and ship them to other countries to make into products that we do not need OR if we do need them, they are taking our resources away from trading it out right for the product. 

Why would the Canadian government not trade its oil with China on its own for a quality product that Canada needs from China? Why would we need the Koch brothers as a go between? Why do the Koch family need to own any oil rights at all for that matter in Canada?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/20/the-biggest-land-owner-in-canadas-oil-sands-isnt-exxon-mobil-or-conoco-phillips-its-the-koch-brothers/

Should we not be using our OWN natural resource before purchasing it and making another country or one family very wealthy?

Should we not use our own natural resource before selling it to other countries and then selling or trading what we have left over?

We are buying a natural resource we have from other countries and selling our own oil in order to line the pockets of one family. Why are we doing this?

Just like we tell families when the economy goes in the toilet, back to basics…we keep what we need to be self sufficient, sell what we have extra and buy or trade for what we need with that extra.

Back to basic economics. Take care of our own, pay our own, feed our own, and clothe our own, help where we can and buy or trade for what we need.

I know it sounds to simple…but sometimes simple is best.

When is Change Needed?

I do find my life lucky. 

Some people may think that I am a downer, that I am so negative and many times when I am not on my medication that is true. 

But right now in my life I am happy. Even though there is stress, I am trying very hard to deal with that stress in a positive way. I am trying to help not only myself but others who matter very much. I keep busy with gardening and Keagan is keeping me on the run.

A short time ago I blogged how much money I received of government funding. I want people to know, I do not expect more than what I am getting. I have survived on what I get and I know it is my choice to live where I do.

I don't waste what little I have. I use my funds to feed, cloth and put a roof over my daughters head while still being there for my son who is living with his father. 

I am not responsible for any other person's expenses or hobbies but my own and my daughters which are minimal to begin with (until lately ;) Keagan has gotten into some school activities like badminton and track and field. We also found her a Cello teacher! YAH!) 

I live a very simple life, eating out happens rarely, I do not make expensive purchases for others or for myself without having the cash available in hand, meaning I save for it first. Snacks are a given in all households but there is a limit to how much is spent each month and fruit is always available in the house. I do preserves and freeze in the fall what we cannot store over the winter.

Do I expect others to live the same way? No. 

But there are those that are very much worse off than I and that is who I want to bring attention to...to those people who don't even make the $18,000/year, but are working from morning until night. 

Those who can make the difference are those who make more than I do, they make more than $40,000/year...these are the people who need to decide that cleaning toilets, mopping floors and cleaning grills is worth more than minimum wage and no benefits. 

These are the people who have to look at the numbers...inflation 1975 pay=2015 pay for minimum wagers...but the prices are wacked. These are the people who have to see that a house in 1975 was 10% of what it is now. 

Food cost has skyrocketed since then as well and you complained THEN that it was expensive, if you are not living on minimum wage now...think, if you were complaining about the cost of food in the '70s how do you think someone on minimum wage feels NOW? They cannot afford meat.

Doctors, lawyers, accountants, all those professional politicians, along with the floor scrubbers, hamburger flippers and skyscraper builders need to decide that those people who bathe, feed and dress our grandparents in the homes are worth more than minimum wage and no benefits. 

These are the people who need to say, enough of YOUR taxes going into the pockets of people who are not doing their jobs and into the pockets of people who are working. 

A person who works as a client care attendant/nursing aid in a group home for seniors or for the severely disabled should not have to be on assistance and a person working as a chambermaid should not have to be on assistance. These people should not have to be assisted with health care benefits.

Alberta has an election coming up in a matter of days...while I choose to live in Saskatchewan, I am always watching what happens in my beloved home province. 

Informing ourselves about the choices and allowing those choices to have a chance to prove themselves is how change happens, it is scary...but more often than not it works out for the best when we decide change is needed.

Publically owned Oil and Gas Industry for Canada...Good or Bad?

Is it time for Canada’s oil sector to become publically owned?

While I do not agree with publically owned businesses like the liquor board and the care of roads for transportation department, I believe that government run oil industry may be the way to go to keep our economy running, jobs going and job creation.

With less reliance on the United States for refinement we would create and keep jobs here in Canada instead of shipping them to the United States, a country that has become hostile towards our oil while they still support oil from countries that support terrorists.

Saskatchewan’s potash is doing so well it makes me wonder how well Canada’s oil sands would do if we were to kick the oil companies off the land and the provinces started producing it themselves.

Before this happens one huge deal would have to be done and that is building our own refineries close enough to the oil sands so that transport would not be a bigger issue than what Keystone is causing. 

I realize we have the environmentalists’ screaming already at my blog that refineries are pollutants and that no one wants to live by them…we have so much land in Canada where no one lives and no one wants to live and until our reliance on oil and gas comes to a halt, we have to suck it up that everything from our vehicles to the computers we own use this type of energy to make and use.

Many people commute to the oil sands and work for weeks away from home, the same cannot be done for jobs at refineries?

Strict regulations need to be made in order for pipelines to run to those refineries, oil spills do not need to happen damaged pipes need attention immediately. A government run oil and gas industry could make sure of this.

Creation of these jobs would also create stability in the economy. These jobs would also be higher paying, stable employment…something governments need to be making right now.

With all the jobs lost because of oil companies shutting their doors, this would be the perfect time to say ADIOS to these crooked companies that are only here to make money off Canadas resources and at the same time make Canada look like the bad guys to the rest of the world.

All the profit would come to Canada, it would fix our roads, educate our children and put food on the tables of many people who crooked companies have now laid off.

The Alberta and Saskatchewan governments could put people back to work; these governments could start making money again. They could do it by making the oil and gas industry a Publically Owned Company. They could keep this industry from down turns every 5-10 years by making it a publically owned company. 

They could invest in their government’s future and their constituent’s futures by getting oil companies, that do not care about the workers or the people of this country, out of our country and taking over the production and refinement its own oil and gas.

These companies keep saying that if royalties are too high they won't stay, well...lets call them on that. 

We do not need these companies; yes it may be easier to have them do the work…but is it better? Hard work makes everything more worthwhile. Doing things the easy way, may be easy...but it isn't right.

Obviously it isn’t better to have companies that keep destroying our economy when they feel like it by laying off thousands of people and treating of them like crap only to have the government have to support these people while the market is down.

Controlling our own oil and gas industry makes sense, doesn't it? 

Let's put our oil and gas industry back to work under government run, build our own refineries, creating jobs here in Canada and say good bye to reliance on Companies who sell out Canada when it serves them.