tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31415271.post315560228471537674..comments2023-09-22T06:22:50.820-06:00Comments on Ken Chapman: What Do We Want to Achieve in RebootAlberta 3.0?kenchapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11384045981190810115noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31415271.post-32298591580168528112010-08-31T10:40:33.360-06:002010-08-31T10:40:33.360-06:00Hi Ken,
I know you've been talking a lot about...Hi Ken,<br />I know you've been talking a lot about Albertans waking up and realizing they are owners of tremendous resources and with ownership comes responsibility. Maybe I'm just a slow learner, but I'm starting to grasp the magnitude of this idea. <br /><br />I had a very interesting conversation last night at Christopher Spencer's campaign launch with a man who presented the following ideas. Can you confirm or correct this info?<br /><br />Venezuela holds 85% of the profits from their oil. 15% goes to the oil company. The companies were told if they didn't like the "deal", they were free to leave but that Venezuela would assume control of all their assets, infrastructure,equipment, etc. None of the companies left. Norway also controls most of its oil profits. By contrast, Alberta only charges 14% in royalties and there is talk of wanting to reduce it to 7%. (??!) <br /><br />Why are we, as Albertans:<br />(1) happy to have someone else assume the control, the risk and the profit of our resoruces?<br />(2) convinced that getting jobs out of our resources is good enough?<br />(3) largely ignorant, as a public, that billions of dollars of profit leaves our province every year made from the resources we were lucky enough to be blessed with but reluctant to take ownership of?<br />(4) complacent in allowing these same companies, who are turning such a tremendous profit, to leave behind huge lakes of toxic waste which we will have to deal with when they breach their containment, as everyone knows they eventually will?<br />(5) so short-sighted in using our boom or bust oil revenues to cover the basics, rather than investing this money so that future generations will also benefit from the resource taken from them? <br /><br />And why, am I, a university-educated, 29-year resident of Alberta, only just NOW waking up to this?<br /><br />What's up, Ken??<br /><br />I'm trying to think of an analogy that would make sense to most of us. Would it be like like winning the $1 million lottery and then allowing an investor from Texas to take over control of the money? She invests it for you and multiplies it many times over. You, as owner of the windfall, receive $140,000 (14%) and she gets all the rest: she's doing all the work after all and, oh, your kid can have a job at the office, cleaning the windows and learning about investment banking. <br /><br />So, that's fair, right? There are so many lottery winners out there and we don't want her to take her expertise somewhere else. <br /><br />Are we too nice, too insecure or are we just immature? Maybe it's time for us all to grow up and put our big girl panties on. <br /><br /><br />SueSue Huffhttp://suefortrustee.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31415271.post-40822705364613744662010-08-26T21:01:13.567-06:002010-08-26T21:01:13.567-06:00Anonymous
Agree the first two were great, but time...Anonymous<br />Agree the first two were great, but time for meditation is over. Thought without action is useless, Action without thought is dangerous. Time to get thought and action lined up and make Alberta the best place for the world. Looking forward to RebootAlberta 3.0.Albertagirl46https://www.blogger.com/profile/14872770303374905272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31415271.post-36135746554217996962010-08-25T23:22:31.380-06:002010-08-25T23:22:31.380-06:00Do we need to achieve anything? The first two wer...Do we need to achieve anything? The first two were great.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com