The Conservatives have now officially blown two oil booms.
Norway (population 4.4 million) started its Heritage Fund with an initial $400 million oil-revenue investment in 1996, and today the fund not only sits at CDN$429 billion, but it's projected to reach $800 billion within 10 years.
Just for magnitude's sake, $800 billion is a stack of $100 bills 1040 kilometres high. If you spent just over $1000 a second, 24/7, it would take you 25 years to blow it all.
Alberta started its Heritage Fund in 1976 with an initial $1.5 billion kick-off. After two oil booms and 33 years – 20 more years than the Norwegians have been at it – we've got all of $17 billion.
Lemmings stampede over the cliff only once every few years. Albertans have been doing it consistently for 38 years.
In any other jurisdiction, the people would be demonstrating in the streets and pounding on the doors of the Legislature to vent their fury over such financial incompetence. But, hey, this is Alberta we're talkin' 'bout here, pardner! They're the gover-mint 'n they bin the gover-mint since whenever, so they must know what they're doin'!
We MUST lose the mentality that equates (supposedly Progressive) Conservatism with the essence of Albertanism.
There's no other way to prove to the rest of the world that we're not just collectively very stupid.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
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