A Problem for Most Countries Today

The following is re-posting from A Better Way Alberta

Although specific to Alberta, it addresses principles applicable to Canada and most countries.

The real problem: Tax & royalty giveaways

The evidence is clear: Alberta does not have a spending problem. The amount of money we spend on public services like education and health care is not excessive.
It's not out of line with other provinces and it's not rising out of control.

So if costs for our public services are under control, and our economy is large and growing, how can we explain the curious (and frankly troubling) fact that the Alberta government continues to record multi-billion dollar deficits?

Alberta has a revenue problem

Since Ralph Klein in 1992, successive Conservative governments have presided over a remarkable series of tax and royalty giveaways that have literally blown a hole in the revenue base that our province needs to fund things like education, health care and other vital public services. Here are the facts:

Fact: Alberta's flat income tax benefits the wealthy
In 2001, Alberta introduced the 10 per cent flat income tax. And its benefits went disproportionately to the wealthy. Albertans earning more than $250,000 a year saw their provincial income taxes drop 24 per cent. But the amount of taxes middle-income earners paid were virtually unchanged (Source: Alberta Federation of Labour, "Alberta's Flat Tax puts Vital Public Services at Risk").

Fact: Flat tax cost us $1.5 billion in first year.
By the Alberta government's own estimates, the flat tax resulted in a loss of $1.5 billion to the provincial treasury in the first year alone. The losses of potential revenue have grown every year with Alberta's growing population (Source: Government of Alberta, "Alberta's single income tax rate lowered to 10 percent").

Fact: Alberta has 25 per cent of Canada's high-income earners.
Alberta is home to 25 per cent of all Canadians earning more than $500,000 per year, even though we only have 10 per cent of the country's population (Source: Alberta Federation of Labour, custom tabulations using Statistics Canada's Social Policy Simulation Model and Database).

That means Alberta has a large population of high-income earners who continue to pay ultra-low taxes thanks to the flat-tax giveaway.

If we returned to a progressive tax system similar to what existed in Alberta prior to 2001, those high-income earners would pay a fairer share of taxes in the province and help eliminate Alberta's current budget deficit.


Fact: Alberta could collect $11 billion more in taxes and still have the lowest tax rates in Canada.
According to the government's own calculations, an extra $11 billion in revenue could be generated every year if Alberta had the same tax structure as British Columbia, the province with the next lowest tax rates (Source: Government of Alberta, 2011 Budget).

If we taxed at rates slightly lower than B.C., we could get rid of the province's current $3.05-billion deficit and have $8 billion to spare!

That's billions to invest in better services, needed infrastructure, and to save in our rainy day Heritage Savings Fund.


Fact: $2 billion every year to corporate profits.
Alberta has cut the province's general corporate tax rate from 15.5 per cent in 2001 to 10 per cent today. The government estimates each 1 per cent cut in the provincial corporate tax rate represents a loss of $350 million to the treasury (Source: Government of Alberta, 2011 Budget).

Returning corporate tax rates to pre-2001 levels would generate nearly $2 billion additional revenue annually.


Fact: Corporations have successfully lobbied for lower taxes.
Between 2005 and 2011, the combined provincial/federal tax rate on corporate profits over $500,000 was slashed from 33.6 per cent to 28 per cent. The Harper government in Ottawa wants to reduce it to 25 per cent by the end of 2012, significantly lower than the rates in other western industrial countries. That loss in revenue means less money for essential public services for you and me (Source: Government of Canada and Alberta, Budget documents 2005 to 2011).


Fact: Alberta government failed to meet its own targets for royalty collection.
Royalties are not taxes. Instead, they are the price that companies pay for the opportunity to develop and sell natural resources that are owned by the public. In order to calculate royalties, the government first looks at what economists call resource "rent," which is the surplus wealth left over after the developer has paid his costs of production and taken a competitive level of profit (about 15 per cent). Royalties are the way that governments collect these rents or surplus value.
In many jurisdictions around the world, governments—as the owners of the resource—take all the surplus value. They justify this on the grounds that the developer has already made a competitive profit.

But here in Alberta, the government is much more generous with developers: the government's target is to collect between 50 and 75 per cent of rents, leaving oil companies and other resource developers with huge windfall profits over and above their normal, competitive profits.
However, a recent study from the Parkland Institute at the University of Alberta shows that the Alberta government only managed to reach its minimum target of 50-per-cent rent collection twice over the past decade and never came close to reaching its higher target of 75-per-cent rent collection.

How much money did the Alberta government leave on the table to be scooped into the pockets of big energy corporations? Based on the Parkland Institute's calculations, the Alberta government could have collected $37 billion more in royalties over the decade if it had actually met its own minimum collection target (50 per cent of rent) and a whopping $65 billion more if it had met its maximum target (75 per cent of rent).

An extra $37-65 billion would have transformed Alberta government's financial situation dramatically, giving it an almost endless range of options for investment and/or saving.




Fact: The government's share of total market value of our energy resources has dropped from 40% to 10%.
A study from the University of Alberta's Parkland Institute shows the government's share of the total market value of combined oil, gas and oil sands development was about 40 per cent under former Premier Peter Lougheed.

Lougheed raised royalties and more vigorously pursued collections without any negative effects on the Alberta's economy or investment climate

But under the government of Premier Ralph Klein, the public's share of the pie was halved to about 20 per cent, and under Ed Stelmach it dropped to a paltry 10 per cent, the lowest level in Alberta history.

We're the owners of this resource. How can we allow our government to fail us so badly? Low royalty rates and the government's dismal record of actually collecting those royalties means our share of the province's energy wealth has plummeted.

Source:  Parkland Institute, "Misplaced Generosity"

Fact: Royalty giveaways created deficits, not jobs.
In 2009 and 2010, $2.8 billion was spent on the so-called Drilling Stimulus Initiative. The program's goal was to encourage more oil and gas drilling during the recession.
But a  July 2011 investigation conducted by the Alberta Federation of Labour shows that no jobs were created by the program. Instead, the money seems to have been used almost exclusively to pad corporate profits. The program was also extended into 2010, even though oil prices had recovered and investment had rebounded.

If the stimulus had not been extended in 2010, the government would have been able to balance its books that year. The deficits of 2009 and 2010, which were used to justify cuts and freezes to things like education, universities and colleges, were entirely created by a royalty giveaway that created no jobs.

So what does all of this mean?

It means the Alberta government's budgetary cupboard is bare because politicians have made it bare through a long series of irresponsible tax and royalty giveaways.

If the Alberta government levied taxes at a rate closer to the Canadian average, if it implemented a slightly more aggressive royalty system, and if it stopped giving massive handouts to already successful industries, then Alberta's deficits would quickly be replaced by surpluses.

Bottom line, Alberta can afford top-quality services and world-class infrastructure. We can also afford to dramatically increase our savings at the same time. But none of this will be possible until the Alberta government stops giving a free ride to wealthy corporations and high-income individuals.
The real solution is progressive taxes and royalty reform. Help us spread the word. Join our campaign.

 Copyright 2012 Better Way Alberta

The Better Way Alberta campaign is a joint project of the Alberta Federation of Labour and Public Interest Alberta

"Tell the CRTC NO SUN NEWS on public cable."

 The following is a re-posting of a Facebook event by Boycott Sun News Network that I support wholeheartedly. The last thing we need in Canada is Sun's Fox-like idiocy shoved down our throats.

Tell the CRTC NO SUN NEWS on public cable.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Contact the CRTC and tell them you do not want Sun News Network on your local cable. Everyone has the right to submit a written intervention to the CRTC against the application (this is more effective than simply emailing the general mailbox). To do so click on the link below, then click the button that reads "submit" (under deadlines), then highlight "I agree" and click next. Then click Option 1 and "next". Then click the box "Sun News General Partnership" and "next" and then (finally) highlight "Opposition", type in your reasons against and click "submit". You may want to draft your comments in advance and cut and paste them in or upload them as a document or PDF (using the "choose file" button) and then click "next" and continue through to the end.

CRTC Broadcasting Notices of Consultation Open for Comment  - How to submit

 (This is more effective than sending a comment to the general mailbox)

Harper Drives the Omnibus Over Canadians for the Oil Industry

Normal omnibus bills combine a bunch of related regulations and laws for procedural convenience. Harper's does it do he can't be challenged and can hew down our rights and protections with one fell swing. If he didn't have a majority, this would be exactly the kind of thing that begged a confidence vote. It still should.

If he had the people's confidence and trust, or did anything other than give empty promises and call everyone "friend" like the con-man he is, he wouldn't have to ram these bills through. He is incapable of mature discussion , debate, and negotiation. Thus he is unwilling to allow possible changes to his divine directives especially those that might improve them.

He hopes by making them part of the economic plan of the country (the only plan he is interested in, the sad, failed economy student) we would have to through the baby out with the bathwater to get rid of them. And his only economic plan is growth through the sale of raw materials until we have none, leaving us a ruined mine for a country. The only growth he has or can cause is that of his own ego and the size of the inequality gap.

If he really wanted a prosperous, growing Canada for all Canadians, not just the oil company owners, he would pump money into education and training, force companies to do their own instead of putting it on the public dime, end tax havens and raise a luxury tax, estate tax, and capital gains tax. He would invest in the creation businesses that use our raw materials to produce products that we export. The entire job chain should be here, and we should be far more influential in setting world oil prices, as well as those for other materials that we have in abundance compared to the rest of the world. We should be manufacturers, innovators, and scientific explorers, not just labourers in the forest, mine, or oil patch.

We should be materially self-sufficient as a country, selling only our excess, not giving it to countries who can utilize it cheaper in manufacturing and drive our wages down. Eventually, the only good-paying jobs will be in the oil (et al.) industry. Every good drug dealer pays their people well. Keeps the product flowing. 


The following is a re-posting from The Huffington Post of a Blog article by Yan Roberts.

A Love Letter to Harper From the Oil Industry

Posted: 01/16/2013 5:12 pm

Last week, a year-old letter signed by the associations representing the petroleum, gas and pipeline industry in Canada was exposed. It asked the federal government to modify six critical environmental laws that inconvenienced the signers' industries.

Five of these laws have since been chopped up into omnibus bills C-38 and C-45, which significantly dismantled Canada's environmental protection. The letter was obtained last week by Greenpeace via Access to Information.

Before specifically naming which environmental laws they want changed and getting into the details of those desired changes, the letter characterizes Canada's environmental law as "almost entirely focused on preventing bad things from happening" and puzzlingly attempts to criticizes it for being so:

"We believe that the basic approach embodied in existing legislation is out-dated. At the heart of most existing legislation is a philosophy of prohibiting harm; 'environmental' legislation is almost entirely focused on preventing bad things from happening rather than enabling responsible outcomes. This results in a position of adversarial prohibition, rather than enabling collaborative conservation to achieve agreed common goals."

It is more than troubling that this letter explicitly names the acts the signatories want altered and goes on to specifically spell out the changes they want to our country's environmental safety net. It is more than suspicious that we have now seen most of these changes come to pass in omnibus bills C-38 and C-45.
In their letter, the petroleum, gas and pipeline industry associations identified the National Energy Board Act, Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, Species at Risk Act, Fisheries Act, Migratory Birds Convention Act and the Navigable Waters Protection Act as part of an "out-dated" approach. So far, the migratory birds are the only ones that have since escaped having their federal protection eliminated.

Take a moment to unwind and then brace yourself for the next part of the letter. After identifying the environmental regulation easements that we have now seen put in place, the letter moves on to suggest the federal government rework First Nation's land claims:

"In addition to considering regulatory reform in the context of environmental legislation and regulation, in parallel progress must be made on issues associated with Aboriginal consultation."

As with the environmental protection eliminations, the requested changes to the Indian Act are solely in the interest of the industries that sent the letter, and not in the interest of the communities and peoples affected. Of course the federal government was quick to comply with this request as well, and we are currently seeing the frustration of the people play out across the nation. Driven over the edge, they march and rally now, having already decided to take matters into their own hands. With Idle No More, they are bravely standing in opposition to the very things that should have every Canadian on their feet and expressing outrage.

Never should one industry get to write Canada's environmental law. Never should one industry get to rewrite Canada's treaties. Never should one industry be listened to over the voice of tens of thousands of protesting citizens.

The letter was signed by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, Canadian Gas Association and the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute. It was surely just one element in a broader conversation of lobbying. Of course we all know that lobbying on this level exists and has its effects.

The scandal here is that the Harper government is blatantly adhering to the interests of one industry -- adhering to the interests of one industry over other industries, adhering to the interests of one industry over the broader interests of all Canadians, and adhering to the interests of one industry over the fundamental protection of our land and waters.

What are we to make of how easy a time these industry lobbyists had at furthering their own interests? It begins to seem outlandish when we compare this to how difficult of a time Canadian citizens have when simply asking their government to pass these kinds of bills openly (with debate and dialogue, and not all lumped together like some mega-omnibus bill).

What are we to make that a letter from an oil, gas and pipeline lobby group and addressed to only the Minister of Environment Canada and the Minister of Natural Resources Canada appears to set in motion deep reforms to the relationship the federal government has with our First Nation peoples?

If we let basic protection of our environments, communities or commitments lapse, then it won't be long before we have to attend the consequences. These will be the kind of consequences without easy remedy. I'll be honest, I write this with the idea that exposing the scandal here could bring more people into action. But what kind of action?

Let this letter help us all understand the mechanics of lobbying -- beyond experiencing its effects on a daily basis. It is positive to see that many Canadians are being encouraged to bypass the limited media coverage of these concerns and go and seek out this information for themselves. Choose one part of these omnibus bills and examine it closely. If you enjoy having healthy streams, rivers and lakes then perhaps start with that aspect.

The Act which previously provided basic protection for our Canadian waters was eliminated and its replacement is called the Navigation Protection Act. Notice first that the word "water" has been removed from the title; that will give you insight into the meat of this Act.

This is a continuation of the Harper government's abandonment of responsibility to protect water and water habitats. This new acts leaves 99.9 per cent of our rivers and 99.7 per cent of our lakes without basic protection.

If you get a big kick out of horrifying dismal catastrophes then you will love this next part: Bridges are mentioned in this new replacement Act but there is no federal governing policy for how pipelines are regulated when they near or cross water. Recall that one of the four signees of the lobby letter was the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association.

Bill C-45 tries to reassure us that "Canadian waters will continue to be protected by Transport Canada's marine safety laws, the Fisheries Act, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 and various provincial statutes." But anyone who has been following along will remember that the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the Fisheries Act were both gutted in omnibus budget bill C-38 when resource interests were favoured over the health of the environment.

What on Earth are we doing? Or rather, what are we allowing to be done? Nature strives to experience the hospitality of our human world. We cannot let government's failings represent our humanness. We must give mercy and deep appreciation in the form of basic environmental protection.

Hypocrite Harper the Failed Economist

Like George "the Human Disaster" Bush was out to prove he could do what his daddy couldn't with Iraq, Harper is trying to prove to himself, his daddy and the whole world that his economics professors were wrong when they said he should take up another field. He's desperate to prove it wasn't just daddy who got him to where he is, just like Bush, even though he wouldn't have gotten the "quality" degree he got from the oil company that his daddy worked for. Just like Bush, he was far from top of his class.

Harper the Hypocrite is putting all his "formidable" economic experience and credntials to work for us. His single-minded tactics work in the politics of division, but how's he really doing with the economy that was handed to him on a golden stable platter? After all it takes a lot a people cooperating and working hard to have a good economy. Harper can't manage a dialogue with anyone with a differing opinion, let alone the concept of negotiation. He's a success at increasing the inequality gap.

The following is a re-posting of a post on Facebook by Critically Thinking Canadian

Prime Minister Harper has consistently used the Canadian economy as the ultimate reason to back the Conservatives. He would like you to believe that under Conservative leadership, Canada has escaped the world recession. Unfortunately, when Canadians reflect on their own status, the result is quite different.

(Research from EKOS Research Associates, Ltd., November 2012)

Idle No More Solidarity From An Industry Insider Whistle-Blower

This is a re-posting of a Facebook post by Navneet Gupta on Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 4:02pm ·  

In Solidarity With The Idle No More Movement (Please Share)

Thanks For Your Efforts! In Solidarity!
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From A Former Insider Turned Whistle-Blower: Canada imports industrial waste which is then dumped on native lands, as federal laws do not apply to native lands. This has resulted in much higher incidences of disease (Cancer, other immune disorders, etc.) in native communities that are already marginalized (Hamilton, Brantford, Sarnia, Walpole Island). I worked in the waste management industry for some years. Information on landfills are 10-15 years out of date in Canada (ECO Report, 2006-2007). This makes it impossible to ‘monitor’ or ‘enforce’ waste regulations that only look good ‘on paper’. Sheila Copps had deep tied to organized crime. She was the Deputy Prime Minister of this country (Canada). However, before that, she was our liberal ‘environment’ minister, and before that, she used to work for Philip ‘Environmental’ which was involved is these so-called ‘waste management’ practices. She lifted the ban on the trans-boundary movement of waste which helped facilitate this criminal practice of importing industrial waste from the states and dumping it on native lands.
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Canadian resource extraction companies abroad are equally disturbing with respect to both human rights abuses among indigenous populations and to the environment. The amount of open transgressions by Canadian companies operating abroad is staggering: Canadian mining companies are far and away the worst offenders in environmental, human rights and other abuses around the world, according to a global study commissioned by an industry association but never made public. The four “hot spot” countries with the most incidents were India, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Regionally, however, Latin America had the most incidents, followed by sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
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There remains an active campaign to track, target, & obliterate what is left of natives at home and abroad via several countries. Most notably Canada, due to it's exploitation of vast natural resources (foreign and domestic) which conflict with traditional native values.  Since this never makes the 'news', it becomes even more vital that we shine a light on this.
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"To learn who rules over you, determine who you cannot criticize" - Voltaire. Corruption At The Highest Levels Via Corporate Raiders & Criminal Empires (i.e. Non-Disclosure Agreements, Confidentiality Agreements, Gag Orders, Intimidation, Harassment, Character Assassination, Loss Of Job, Freedom, Life..).
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Also important to point out that this is not just a 'native problem', it is a Canadian (Global) Problem!!!
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"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We (i.e. all species) are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly." Letter from a Birmingham Jail
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“We must all live like brothers (& sisters), or we will all perish together as fools.”.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.(1929 – 1968).
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A "meeting" with the chiefs is not good enough (Most of them are just as corrupt as our leaders). Where have they been the past few decades while conditions on reserves have remained extremely poor? We need concrete action with regards to the condition on reserves in addition to basic environmental protections which are being dismantled to pave the way for easier extraction of natural resources to fuel and feed this unsustainable economy. The way native peoples have been treated on reserves for decades (generations) is a *Collective Canadian Human Rights Atrocity* and we are ALL responsible. It has escaped the *Canadian Consciousness*.

http://www.facebook.com/TheBiosphereOurChildrensFuture?fref=ts

P.S. MASS MEDIA IS FULL OF SHIT !!!! WE SHOULD FLASH MOB / OCCUPY MASS MEDIA OUTLETS!!