 Panelists Gil McGowan and Kevin Taft with moderator Paul McLoughlin at a panel discussion about revenue reform.
The message in a nutshell at yesterday's UNA AGM panel discussion on how to afford quality health care? "If you want civilization, you've got to collect taxes."
Or, in Alberta's case, taxes and royalties - which aren't the same thing.
Under the entertaining guidance of veteran journalist Paul McLoughlin, Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan and Edmonton-Riverview MLA Kevin Taft tried to unravel the puzzle of why "the richest place on earth" can't afford quality health care, or other public services.
It's not because the cost of health care is out of control, as we are so frequently told, said Taft, who is the former leader of the Opposition in the Alberta Legislature. In fact, he explained, population growth and inflation account for most of the cost increase over the past 20 years.
Meanwhile, both taxes and royalties - the rent charged on natural resources owned by all Albertans - have decreased, and are lower than in almost every other jurisdiction in the developed world.
So where has all the money gone? What's changed, explained Taft, is that "corporate profits over the last 20 years have soared."
This is what's at the base of the many claims Alberta is short of money, said McGowan. "We're rich. And we spend about the middle of the pack when it comes to public services - and yet our politicians continue to talk the talk of austerity."
"The real problem is not a problem of wealth," he stated. "It's that we've blown a hole in our revenue."
"The cupboard is bare because of political choices made by our leaders in successive Conservative governments," McGowan concluded.
Both panelists suggested that needed revenue could be raised by returning Alberta to a progressive tax system instead of the "flat tax" imposed by premier Ralph Klein, and by making an effort to collect all of the province's petroleum royalty rates, which are low by world standards yet a significant portion of which go uncollected.
A video on the topic based on research done by Taft, who before being an MLA was a University of Alberta researcher, and supported by the AFL can be viewed on Youtube.com.
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