Thread by @yomeeks

This is your daily pension announcement: Holy Dinah, did you ever think you would see the day that Danielle Smith agrees with The Pension War Room™️?

Alberta is a financial disgrace. With a sycophantic Travis Toews as the Minister. #ABLeg

calgaryherald.com/opinion/column…

I do quarrel with Danielle on some of the details. And, to be sure, in her position as an un-elected cabinet minister she is writing this at the direction of @jkenney. He is trying to see if a sales tax is float-able. #ABLeg

A sales tax is possible and has been possible for about the past 5 years. COVID has only made the cracks in our fiscal ideology into the gaping caverns that they now are. #ABLeg
Similar screeds have, coincidentally I'm sure, appeared in other Postmedia products. #ABLeg

Danielle, mistakenly, tries to spread the blame equally between Ed, Allison, Rachel and Jason. That understates the stupidity of @jkenney and Travis's decisions by a country mile. #ABLeg #fail

Travis was supposed to be the adult who could have the hard financial talks with @jkenney.

"No, Jason do not plow billions into a pipeline until after the American election."
or
"No, Jason do not invest in a pipeline that will make primarily American jobs." #ableg
or

"Jason, we are conservatives, let the capital markets invest in this project."
or
"Jason, requiring joint pension funds to only use AIMCO exposes the GOA to huge financial risks." #ABLeg
or

"Jason, as the sole shareholder of AIMCO we need to fire the CEO because he lost $2 B on an investment strategy that was outside of his risk system."
or
"Jason, who the hell is Peter Milburn?" #ABLeg #milburned

I could go on and on. Travis could be replaced by a rubber stamp.

To quote Danielle:
"In the first year of Kenney’s government, he promised a deficit of $8.7 billion. It ended up being $12.2 billion. Alberta’s year-end is March 31. COVID shutdowns didn’t start until mid-March. That extra $3.5-billion shortfall? That’s on him." #AbLeg

Yup.

Let that sink in.

The so called "job creation tax credit" has no evidence it created a job in AB.

Jobs may have been created in the Cayman Islands though.....
(Don't @ me about Loblaws, tax avoidance structures in Caribbean countries are common.)

cbc.ca/news/business/…

The rail by oil contracts? I guarantee you will lose money in ANY secondary option market if you go in with the attitude of "sell at all costs". Travis should have explained that the rail contracts should be left to run their course. #ABLeg

But, it is hard to tell. This government has also taken secrecy to a new level. I am denied access to the oil by rail contracts. No one has been told the price of oil used to model the contracts for example.

People with skeptical minds have been prevented from examining. #ABLeg

We have got to stop living in the past.

Danielle is wrong with her prescriptive solution in the article.

Alberta's spending is not out of line with the other large provinces. The per capita size of our public service has not really changed since the mid-70's. #ABLeg

She is demanding the UCP again cut education when the MacKinnon report makes it clear that AB spend is well below the spending average of the ON, BC and PQ.

With very few exceptions services received by AB taxpayers are in line with services received in other provinces. #ABLeg