Saturday, April 26

Opinion/Research

Alberta Pension Plan- conversation with retired professors at UofA
6Nov By Bob AscahNo Comments
Demographics, Economic Data, Employment, Financial Institutions, Intergovernmental, Opinion/Research, Politics

Alberta Pension Plan- conversation with retired professors at UofA

I was excited to present to retired professors from the University of Alberta last Thursday my views on the marketing campaign by the Alberta government to "engage" the public on the supposed benefits of an Alberta pension plan. My focus was on the political messaging. The Youtube video can be viewed here. The political messaging created by the Government of Alberta is an expensive communications effort (close to $10-million of Albertans’ tax dollars). The friendly website "Alberta Pension Plan" begins with “What’s in it for you.”  The web page design is classically an appeal to Albertans’ sense of place and community with pictures of the Rockies and foothills and wistful pictures of a handsome seniors’ couple. The pitch focuses mainly on the benefits that would be supposed...
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A devil’s bargain- Opinion
1Oct By Bob AscahNo Comments
Fiscal History, Government Finances, Opinion/Research, Politics

A devil’s bargain- Opinion

You may be an ambassador to England or France You may like to gamble, you might like to dance You may be the heavyweight champion of the world You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls [Chorus] But you’re going to have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re going to have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re going to have to serve somebody Bob Dylan-1979 Slow Train Coming We are a province of free riders- free riders on the periodic gusher of oil, bitumen, and natural gas revenues. As such, this bargain has made us, inured us, to low taxes and good public services. And public buildings too,  testaments to Alberta's engineering prowess. When I say "we," that includes me.  I was lured to Alberta by money a decent research assistant-ship stipen...
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An Alberta Pension Plan  (APP): Your Plan, Their Choice
24Sep By Bob Ascah1 Comment
Agencies, Demographics, Financial Institutions, Opinion/Research, Politics

An Alberta Pension Plan  (APP): Your Plan, Their Choice

Updated 25 September 2023 Updated 30 September 2023  “This report shows a made-in-Alberta pension plan could put more money in the pockets of hard-working families and business owners and improve retirement security for seniors. We want to hear from you because it’s your pension, your choice. I’m so excited to hear what Albertans think about a provincial pension plan that could benefit Albertans now as well as our future generations.”     Danielle Smith, Premier In this post I critically examine the upcoming battle between the UCP state, business organizations, and Alberta sovereigntists versus a labour -NDP coalition led opposition of concerned seniors and worried CPP contributors. First, I begin referencing the debate over the past two days and then investigate the central politi...
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Alberta’s continuing devotion to resource revenue and the legacy of ignored policy advice
25Jul By Bob AscahNo Comments
Budget, Energy, Fiscal History, Government Finances, Opinion/Research

Alberta’s continuing devotion to resource revenue and the legacy of ignored policy advice

Updated on 2 August 2023 Despite a record surplus reported for last year, the Alberta government only achieves surpluses by counting the royalties from the sale of non-renewable resources (non-renewable resource revenue- NRRR) like ordinary revenue. But does this practice- commenced in the 1940s- faithfully represent the fiscal position of the government? If the Government of Alberta adopted the private sector's approach to the sale of physical assets, Alberta's fiscal history would be decidedly different. Private sector accounting would establish the oil, gas, and bitumen resources as an asset on the provincial balance sheet. The accounting entry would represent the value of all the resources in the ground that would be produced in the current fiscal year and into the future. The value of...
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Danielle Smith’s cabinet policy committees
9Jul By Bob AscahNo Comments
Energy, Intergovernmental, Opinion/Research, Politics

Danielle Smith’s cabinet policy committees

Updated 10July 2023 On Thursday 6 July, Premier Danielle Smith announced the formation of her cabinet policy committees. These five committees, in addition to the statutory Treasury Board committee chaired by the Treasury Board President and Finance Minister Nate Horner, reflect the government’s key policy priorities for the next four years. The names of the committees are Alberta First Building Communities Economic Diversification Public Safety and Wellness and Legislative Review Committee. All committees are chaired by non-cabinet members and have a balanced number of backbench MLAs and cabinet ministers. In this brief I examine the significance and role of the committees as well as taking a more in depth look at the published backgrounds of the backbench chairs. “I want to thank the ...
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The Conversation-Will Danielle Smith stay moderate or move back to the right — and towards Alberta separatism?
15Jun By Bob AscahNo Comments
Credit Ratings, Environment, Health, Intergovernmental, Opinion/Research

The Conversation-Will Danielle Smith stay moderate or move back to the right — and towards Alberta separatism?

This article was published on 15 June 2023 in The Conversation. Reproduced with permission from The Conversation.    With a fresh and workable majority, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is facing the choice of conforming to her moderate election stance or pushing the strategies of various quasi-separatist groups like Take Back Alberta and Project Confederation. If she opts to move from the centre to the far right again, controversies involving the federal government, government workers and environmentalists will ensue. As a political scientist, former Alberta public servant, financial institution executive and university administrator and researcher, I have been watching politics in Alberta for more than 40 years. At the present time, political pundits are contemplating how Smith, with a fre...
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Initial Reactions -Alberta 2023 election- Opinion and Analysis
1Jun By Bob AscahNo Comments
Opinion/Research, Politics

Initial Reactions -Alberta 2023 election- Opinion and Analysis

Updated 27 December 2023 This post stems from a friend's questions concerning the implications of the 29 May election results. Seats in the assembly? 38 NDP, UCP 48,  "Independent" Jennifer Johnson polled ahead with 5,789 votes to the NDP's Dave Dale's  2,477 votes in the Lacombe-Ponoka riding,   These numbers  may change with recounts. https://results.elections.ab.ca/8400  Official tally will be Thursday late next week  Price of Oil? who knows? Provincial royalties/personal and corporate tax revenues? Will know the actuals to March 31 2023 at the end of June when consolidated financial statements are published.  For 2023-24 the first quarter results will be published by the end of August.  Budget 23-24 used $79 U.S. per barrel. To the end of May from April 1 WTI ha...
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Oil and Gas royalties, unpaid municipal taxes, and unaddressed reclamation
17Apr By Bob AscahNo Comments
Agencies, Budget, Energy, Environment, Opinion/Research

Oil and Gas royalties, unpaid municipal taxes, and unaddressed reclamation

In June 2022, Alberta’s then Energy Minister Sonya Savage, a former executive with the Canadian Energy Pipelines Association, warned the federal government not to consider a tax on windfall profits of the energy industry.  When asked about the oil industry’s record cash flows and remediation liabilities, Savage stated:  “The current spike in oil prices isn’t enough reason to require the industry to spend more on cleaning up the tens of thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells in the province.” In reflecting on this statement, it suggests that expanded spending by Alberta’ producers on remediation expenses might imply royalty payments to Alberta might fall. In short, the province may have a short-term financial interest in not losing revenue when reclamation spending increases. This cont...
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28Mar By Bob AscahNo Comments
Budget, Energy, Environment, Government Finances, Health, Opinion/Research, Politics

Solutions-based policy development and Some Modest Recommendations

There are major issues confronting Alberta- a massive understatement if there ever was!   As a student, practitioner, and teacher of public policy for over 40 years, the following ideas are in a germination phase and readers are encouraged to comment and add their suggestions on the central germ of this idea. A solutions-based approach to government policy-making offers a means of identifying a small number of “problems” which require immediate attention and on which there is a consensus on the need for action. This approach starts with Problem identification. The government’s prerogative, but our current government arguably sees things much differently than a majority of Albertans- (e.g. the visceral hate of the federal government as represented by Mr. Trudeau.) In this blogpost, I set o...
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