Klein's Gong Show...

So, Ralph - which is it, more money will fix Health Care, or "innovative restructuring" will fix it???

In the news yesterday, our illustrious premier was ranting that he wants more money from Ottawa

This guy can't even get his story straight. One day, his tirade is that we can only fix our Health Care system by doing it the American Way(tm); the next day, he's saying that it's all a matter of dollars from Ottawa.

On top of that, the musings over his "proposals" due to come out this fall continue to focus on user fees, privatization, deductibles etc. So, even if Klein gets his vaunted 25% funding from Ottawa, he's still going to push forward with some noxious restructuring.

He continues to talk about what "Mr and Mrs. Grundy want". If Mr. and Mrs. Grundy are the "average Albertan", then he's not hearing them. This "average Albertan" wants a Health Care system that works. In the past few years, I've had the opportunity to see the current system "jump to" when needed - it works admirably well as it is. (It can still be improved, but let's recognize what works and what doesn't work before we go diving off the deep end with radical restructuring and simply breaking things for no good reason).

Personally, I don't think Ralph knows, nor cares, what the "average Albertan" wants. He's behind the political 8-ball. He has to know that the sun is setting on his political career, and he no doubt has some significant political debts to pay off. (I can only speculate on this, but I imagine the political donations books for the PC's in this province would make very interesting reading, especially when held up against the light of the various policy decisions this government has made...)

I don't think the average Albertan wanted their health care premiums to double or triple over the last few years; I don't believe the average Albertan wanted deregulation of the electricity and natural gas industries - particularly not with the costs that have accompanied that effort. I don't believe that people wanted the government to gut the public education system, and put in place a shadow "private school" system in the form of charter schools. The list goes on and on. The last decade or so of Klein Tory rule in this province are not a promising track record.