Read Letter - Gov'ts responsibility to promote the public's well-being,better ways

By Aileen Tayler
Written Mar. 15, 2010
A letter written to Hon. Gene Zwozdesky, Edmonton-Mill Creek

Dear Mr. Zwodesky: I am troubled by the lack of proper priority-setting in your government's allocation of resources and collecting of funds necessary to furnish adequate services to all Albertans. I would suggest that you reinstitute the progressive income tax system, increase the royalties on our natural resources extraction and production to levels equivalent to those in Norway, Alaska and even the USA (which are significantly higher than ours in Alberta), and even consider a provincial sales tax if that is necessary to fund health, education, and public safety adequately. To be a successful society to which world-class professionals and businesses will want to come, and in which they will want to stay, many gov't services need to be improved. Cuts to healthcare, inadequate staffing of hospitals, and poor services for the mentally ill and elderly will not produce a safe, productive society. Nor will huge cuts to education, or lowering of standards for healthcare workers or of environmental inspections. Exporting jobs along with bitumen will not attract families to Alberta; however using the expertise our Alberta workers already have in resource exploration/extraction by creating a Crown Corporation to do the job and keep the lion's share of the revenue in Alberta would certainly enhance the quality of life here. Funding training for the unemployed would save money on social service and policing costs, because people cannot be productive when they are hopeless about making an honest living and a liveable wage. Please consider some of these ideas in order to do a better job of managing our provinces human and natural resources. Sincerely, Aileen Tayler #43, 4020 21 St,Edmonton, T6T 1T8

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