[raydan]

We could apply this reasoning on a personal level... all taxes that I pay should come back to ME... why should they go to people that are making less?

[Tricks]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

Ironically, Albertans low provincial tax is working against equalization because the equalization formula is based on the average if taxes applied by provinces.

How do you know? The actual Equalization formula is not published.

If it were fair, it would be open and apparent to the taxpayers.

Because it says so on the Government of Canada website.

https://www.fin.gc.ca/fedprov/eqp-eng.asp

$1:

Equalization entitlements are determined by measuring provinces' ability to raise revenues – known as "fiscal capacity".

Taxes are a substantial part of provinces revenue. If you have some of the lowest taxes in the country, you aren't using your fiscal capacity.

[FieryVulpine]

herbie herbie:

FieryVulpine FieryVulpine:

Shush, Herb. The grown-ups are talking.

Nothing intelligent to add? Didn't think so.

Simply explain to me how when you didn't pay one cent more in federal income tax than I did "because you live in Alberta", your complaint seems to always circle to the same issue.
Quebec doesn't get a nickel of "your money". It seems to get an unfair portion of "Our" money. But Alberta's the only place they bitch about it, endlessly.
When Alberta's ACTUALLY as economically fucked up as half the members on this board claim, it would get transfer payments too.

Herb. Please do not pretend that you have anything useful to add. British Columbia is a backwater filled with hypocritical bumpkins with little self-awareness as that man-toddler that calls himself Premier, John Horgan, proves time and again..

[herbie]

*MOD EDIT*
Lose the Head & Shoulders and rub some Prep H into your scalp, it might help.

[FieryVulpine]

Herb, Herb. Such insults are why British Columbians cannot be equal partners in Confederation.

[Thanos]

I like Horgan's reasoning for why BC's fuel costs are so high:

reason #1 - it's Alberta's fault
reason #2 - it's Alberta's fault
reasons #3 thru #98 - it's Alberta's fault
reason #99 - corporate capitalist rip-off artists!
reason #100 - there's a very, very slight possibility that our own taxes on fuel might be a tad too high but that path takes us nowhere and no one really wants to talk about anything like that right now plus we have to provide services PLEASE PLEASE WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

Yup, just like talking to a fence post.

[herbie]

Nice try Thanos. Horgan is completely at a loss even after a public enquiry to explain why prices are so high.
Because the oil companies are ripping us off, because they can. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it, no political party can say it. Yeah they even OWN the NDP.

Give you a Prince George example. Costco went up 1c. Every other station went up 12-15c. Costco went back down 1c. Everyone else waited a couple weeks, then dropped 2c. In Vanderhoof it jumped TWENTY CENTS. So if you' filled a tanker retail at Costco you could've made 40,000L/5 = $8000.00 to drive 100km and sell it. This was 2 months ago. Prices have eased back down to a nickel more as of yesterday. 10c in Vanderhoof... you'd only make $4000 now!

[Thanos]

I imagine that some pipelines or building a small mid-province refinery would cause a great drop in fuel prices for the areas north of Vancouver and west of the interior. Eliminating as much excessively expensive tanker-truck travel on dangerously narrow and winding roads should be a no-brainer. Given the love of enviro-puritanism that runs amok in your province at any given time though it's not worth the effort to even put an idea like that down on paper, not when it will be automatically vetoed by your politicians and every frothing radical living there.

The people living in the "lesser" areas of BC don't like being dominated by the mass & mob of Vancouver/Victoria? Well, isn't that special. I'd suggest standing up for yourselves and doing something about it but that kind of idea wouldn't be seen as very Canadian, now would it?

[BartSimpson]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

Equalization is...support for provinces that can’t generate sufficient funds through their own taxes.

So it's a transfer of wealth from productive provinces to unproductive provinces.

Exactly.

[rickc]

Thanos Thanos:

I imagine that some pipelines or building a small mid-province refinery would cause a great drop in fuel prices for the areas north of Vancouver and west of the interior. Eliminating as much excessively expensive tanker-truck travel on dangerously narrow and winding roads should be a no-brainer. Given the love of enviro-puritanism that runs amok in your province at any given time though it's not worth the effort to even put an idea like that down on paper, not when it will be automatically vetoed by your politicians and every frothing radical living there.

The people living in the "lesser" areas of BC don't like being dominated by the mass & mob of Vancouver/Victoria? Well, isn't that special. I'd suggest standing up for yourselves and doing something about it but that kind of idea wouldn't be seen as very Canadian, now would it?

Which is why we Americans have the electoral college. Those of us living in the "lesser" areas do not wish to be controlled by the ultra left wing dip shits that have turned California and New York into third world shitholes.

[BeaverFever]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

Equalization is...support for provinces that can’t generate sufficient funds through their own taxes.

So it's a transfer of wealth from productive provinces to unproductive provinces.

Exactly.

The US does the same thing. And the Red states are the biggest recipients of transfers of wealth from the Feds, doncha know

[BeaverFever]

rickc rickc:

Thanos Thanos:

I imagine that some pipelines or building a small mid-province refinery would cause a great drop in fuel prices for the areas north of Vancouver and west of the interior. Eliminating as much excessively expensive tanker-truck travel on dangerously narrow and winding roads should be a no-brainer. Given the love of enviro-puritanism that runs amok in your province at any given time though it's not worth the effort to even put an idea like that down on paper, not when it will be automatically vetoed by your politicians and every frothing radical living there.

The people living in the "lesser" areas of BC don't like being dominated by the mass & mob of Vancouver/Victoria? Well, isn't that special. I'd suggest standing up for yourselves and doing something about it but that kind of idea wouldn't be seen as very Canadian, now would it?

Which is why we Americans have the electoral college. Those of us living in the "lesser" areas do not wish to be controlled by the ultra left wing dip shits that have turned California and New York into third world shitholes.

Like I just said Blue states are richer than the Red States. It’s the Republican flyover country that are the third world shitholes.

[rickc]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

rickc rickc:

Thanos Thanos:

I imagine that some pipelines or building a small mid-province refinery would cause a great drop in fuel prices for the areas north of Vancouver and west of the interior. Eliminating as much excessively expensive tanker-truck travel on dangerously narrow and winding roads should be a no-brainer. Given the love of enviro-puritanism that runs amok in your province at any given time though it's not worth the effort to even put an idea like that down on paper, not when it will be automatically vetoed by your politicians and every frothing radical living there.

The people living in the "lesser" areas of BC don't like being dominated by the mass & mob of Vancouver/Victoria? Well, isn't that special. I'd suggest standing up for yourselves and doing something about it but that kind of idea wouldn't be seen as very Canadian, now would it?

Which is why we Americans have the electoral college. Those of us living in the "lesser" areas do not wish to be controlled by the ultra left wing dip shits that have turned California and New York into third world shitholes.

Like I just said Blue states are richer than the Red States. It’s the Republican flyover country that are the third world shitholes.

What metric are you using to determine that one state is "richer" than another? The ability of the state to tax the living shit out of their residents to fill their coffers? Yeah the blue states win that one hands down. Republican fly over country? Thats a laugh. Florida is one of the most visited states in the country. It is a "fly to" state. Hey don't ask me ask your fellow countrymen. Oh thats right, you can't because they have already left for Florida seeing as its mid November. It looks like quite a few employers are flying into the sunshine state as well. Orlando -Kissimmee-Sanford ares had the nations largest growth of manufacturing jobs last year. Up 23.6% since 2012. Miami-Miami beach-Kendall came in fourth. West palm beach-Boca Raton - Delray beach placed fifth.

You know what the blue states lead in? People leaving. The biggest population losers between 2017 and 2018 were New York and Illinois. The big money people living in New York used to move to Connecticut for a better life. For a while it was the "richest" state in the union. Its blue state confiscate and spend policies have put it in the top 10 of population losers as well. California would be leading the list if it was not for all the illegals pouring over its border. Illegals who happen to mostly be practicing Catholics, as in no birth control. As in birth rates much, much higher than the typical American family. The vast majority of my co workers are people who fled California. I can honestly say that I have never known anyone moving to California. That is why is cost four times as much to rent a U-haul leaving California than it does to rent one going there.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/ ... n-reverse/

[Prof_Chomsky]

Thanos Thanos:

I like Horgan's reasoning for why BC's fuel costs are so high:

reason #1 - it's Alberta's fault
reason #2 - it's Alberta's fault
reasons #3 thru #98 - it's Alberta's fault
reason #99 - corporate capitalist rip-off artists!
reason #100 - there's a very, very slight possibility that our own taxes on fuel might be a tad too high but that path takes us nowhere and no one really wants to talk about anything like that right now plus we have to provide services PLEASE PLEASE WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

Yup, just like talking to a fence post.

I always like to stick with the facts in these sorts of disputes.

Fact 1: Alberta didn’t own it’s mineral rights until Canada gifted it to them in 1930.
So if you decide to try and leave, we’d like our oil back. Oh, and also all the revenue the province kept from it.

Fact 2: The rest of Canada funds their programs through taxes. Alberta chose to keep their taxes artificially low and rely on the free money generated from oil.
What makes someone who happens to live in Alberta so special they get to pay significantly less tax dollars than everyone else? The majority of you aren’t even involved in the oil industry.

Fact 3: If Alberta had the same tax rate as a median Canadian province, they would generate 18.7B more in taxes and have a budget surplus.

Fact 4: Alberta mis-managed their oil revenues. While countries like Norway levied royalties sometimes approaching 90% of revenue, Alberta took a rate ranging from 1-9%. While Norway paid for their programs through tax dollars and saved their oil royalties to generate additional investment revenue, Alberta spent it.

Fact 5: If Alberta actually could leave Canada, you’d have an even harder time getting Canada to allow pipelines to the coast considering you’d be an estranged bastard son. And the US has continually blocked attempts to go south.

In short, stop acting like whiny little children. You've had a free ride for almost 100 years paid for by the magic coincidence there was oil in your province, and mother Canada ALLOWED you to have it. Now grow up and pay your taxes like the rest of the adults in Canada have been doing since the dawn of time.

P.S. Screw Quebec. That's a whole other issue.

[Martin15]