Budget '87

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Slash . . .squeeze . . .squirm. The title of a new song? Hardly.

The first two are what the province is doing to us. The squirming is what most of us will do since Provincial Treasurer Dick Johnson announced the new budget for Alberta. We are now fair game to be legally pick-pocketed.

Undoubtedly, many of you are already feeling the pinch. The first step was immediately brought into play on Friday midnight when the price of cigarettes was increased by 63 cents a pack. That is 23% more for those who used to pay $2.75 in the past.

But, let us begin at square one. The province began its austerity measures some time ago when significant cuts were made in some very basic, yet necessary, areas of human needs. Some of those cutbacks fell in the areas of health, education and social welfare, all being day-to-day needs in our society.

Next, our government began to do a hatchet job on the job market. Provincial employees are laid off and, at t a time when jobs are scarce. It is bad enough the unemployment has been at its highest, ever since the depression years of the 1930s.

Remember too that the cuts in health, education and social welfare have not only affected program content but also staff who had to be let go in order to meet the cutbacks. Now the government comes along and contributes to the unemployment rolls by axing its own staff.

On the other side of the coin, the government spends rather foolishly on itself and for its own benefit.

Last summer, provincial MLAs voted themselves a 10% increase in wages while asking the private sector to keep their wage increases well below 10% and, in some cases, wages have even had to be reduced from their normal level.

There have also been accusations levelled at the Getty government over political patronage whereby 14 ex-cabinet ministers, ex-MLAs and ex-political aids got government jobs.

Another fine example of what spendthrifts the government is becomes more apparent in the three million dollars it approved to renovate the legislature building. Of this amount, it has already spent about one million. In exchange for their luxuries, it looks like we are the ones who have to compensate by the recent budget which it has legislated.

Liquor

As mentioned earlier, tobacco rates have already jumped. That's fine. After all, smoking is a luxury, not a necessity. As of April 1, liquor will also increase, by 12%. That amounts to a $1.10 jump on a 12 pack of beer, 30 to 55 cents on 750 ml of wine and 80 to 85 cents on 750 ml for hard liquor. That's fine as well. After all, booze is just another luxury item, so stock up now while the getting is good. There is no sympathy here for the drinkers.

Drivers

Drivers, or operators, licenses will increase dramatically when they go up from $10 to $30 effective May 1. So do vehicle registrations which will climb from $31 to $41 on that same date. Thus, if one has an unregistered vehicle or will have to purchase or renew an existing licence in the next little while, do it now and save yourself 20 or 30 bucks.

Gasoline

On June 1, gas goes up by 5 cents a litre. This is another luxury for many people but not for all. This increase will have a "spread effect" that will hurt everybody. It will, for example, mean increases in such things as travel costs (buses, taxis, etc.) and trucking costs.

If services and business shell out more for gas, they in turn, will increase their rates to the consumers, those of us who purchase goods. For rural and distant Native communities the price hike will definitely be felt. How? Because of increased fuel prices, those who bring in goods and services will increase their costs to you, the consumers, to accommodate those increased rates.

As for personal vehicles, your average, everyday person, many who do not have substantial incomes, will really feel the bite. For them, gas is not a luxury; it is a necessity. A 2 cent increase they could live with, but 5 cents.

Hotel rates are to increase on July 1, due to a ew ax rate of 5% or more. This is not all that significant. It simply means that a $60 room will cost $63 and that will not hurt us.

Medicare

Except for the very low income earners, the increase in this category is 28.6%. This means that the hike for single people will increase to $18 a month and $36 for families.

Personal Tax

The provincial tax rates are to increase by 18% or more depending on one's income. This hike is being rolled back to January of this year and is another hike that will be felt.

To get an idea of the actual dollar increase in accordance to one's income, the following is a general guide based on single persons, yearly:

Income Bracket Actual increase in Dollars

$15,000 $83

$20,000 $198

$30,000 $339

$40,000 $494

$50,000 $672

Conclusion

In the final analysis, what the budget spells out is fewer dollars for people and that means less purchasing power by the public. The spin-off effect of this will be a reduction in the amount that retail stores and businesses will be able to sell. Thus, the small and large businesses will feel the pinch and may even have to fold.

The cuts in education and health will severely impact programs, services, equipment and staffing all of which are being reduced. The one service which is being affected the most is that of social assistance.

No matter which way you cut it, we are all suffering in some form or other and it looks like we'll just have to sit back and take our lumps.