12 Comments
User's avatar
Cath Millage's avatar

Impressive! Thank you. ❤️🇨🇦

Kathleen's avatar

Excellent article. Yes, Smith & her government are messing with the economic flow of innovation - particularly in the energy field. Not good for AB and citizens. Why is AB not exploring the manufacture of products from the main resource - O&G? There are about 6000 to choose from. Promoting green energy projects rather than killing them? Smith seems intrigued with the Model T, or horse & buggy …

Jill's avatar

If I were in charge of an ambitious, competitive company, I would steer well clear of a province whose government is actively stifling diversity and innovation, top to bottom, by killing its public education system. Just saying. But then I'm not an economist either.

Do you think the business crowd at Rogers Place today was able to focus on Ms. Smith's soothing words (low taxes, guys!!) over the roar of the crowd in red? Labour unrest, elected officials depriving little kids... It might not spook ALL the entrepreneurs, but maybe just getting a little chilly in Alberta these days.

John's avatar

Like the way the UCP subsidize the oil and gas sector (status quo) while actively holding back the disruptive renewables industry?

Stan's avatar

It’s also worth thinking of the ways a company can fail. It can close up laying off all the employees or it can be bought up whole or in pieces at a loss to investors and large parts of it continue to employ the same people.

Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean's avatar

Fair, but if there’s a company looking for those former employees…

Peter Brown's avatar

Never has been a free market anywhere anytime! All businesses have had some form of government support eg education for instance. Also governments have always controlled the money supply in any nation, city state whatever. No government no stable currency.

Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean's avatar

Education is a government responsibility. Airplanes, automobiles manufacturing, and oil sands are not.

Darryl's avatar

I doubt she’s arguing for a removal of regulation and government. The point is that market forces exist, everywhere, always, and thus we should work with market forces and harness them, rather than meddle in ways that are entirely anti-market and self-defeating. So many interventionists, whether they’re progressive or right wing, want to pretend that their policy actions and results exist in a vacuum apart from the marketplace. That’s naive or willfully blind.

Peter Brown's avatar

Many disagree with mainstream economists and bureaucrats…there ability to predict economic indicators that they have created is about as good as a coin flip. My view is that since the 70’s the world in general has become less equitable with respect to the concentration of wealth amongst very few people and corporations… that to me has stifled innovation in many areas. Asset accumulation is not productive for societies as a whole and is more likely to lead to a lack of social cohesion. That will have unpredictable social and economic consequences…uncertainty generates a move to more conservative investment outlook …less risk taking …that applies to the deployment of labour or capital…that trend I think is self defeating for any group whether nation, region or community.

Peter Brown's avatar

It is still concepts we, as a society make up. Economics is not based on any hard, evidence based science…that includes markets and how they may function.

Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean's avatar

I’m neither an economist nor a Nobel Laureate… but they seem to disagree with that.