Rick Strankman MLA, Drumheller Stettler
One of the United Kingdom’s most famous historical figures and former Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, is credited with some of the most profound quotes in history;
“I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”
Churchill understood how important personal wealth creation is in a free society and how government’s role is to facilitate the ability to create your own wealth. Known more for his guidance of allied forces throughout World War 2 in the fight for freedom, that often overshadowed his keen understanding of taxation as a form of wealth redistribution and the unintended consequences of taking taxation too far.
Personal wealth creation allows the individual to be the master of their own destiny while wealth redistribution is wrought with calamity and financial liabilities that typically fall onto taxpayers.
Your ability to amass wealth and improve your standard of living, is the driving force behind the ambition that fuels the economy, that we all ultimately rely on for the taxation that pays for things like social programs and necessary infrastructure.
Albertans are currently at the mercy of a government that has a preference for redistributing wealth and not towards policies that grow the economy and create jobs. They have effectively stepped into the bucket and with a firm grip on the handles they’re attempting to lift themselves up. The consequences of the Alberta government’s actions speak louder than their words ever could.
As a UCP MLA I am committed to creating wealth for all Albertans by creating and facilitating opportunity through lower taxation, less government, and a more accommodating regulatory environment. The policies of the NDP show more of an interest in controlling wealth through redistribution rather than creating it.
The carbon tax in particular has been championed as a tax on the wealthy, when in fact, it’s the lower and middle class who are most affected by this tax on everything. Whether it’s Bob the Carpenter here in east central Alberta, or anyone of the thousands of working men and women across this province, we shouldn’t be taxing them more than is absolutely necessary, which will allow them to better direct their own financial futures.
The Albertan way has always been to spread opportunity to those who need jobs and those who create them. The NDP’s massive tax increases are exactly the wrong approach to creating an investor-friendly environment, particularly during an economic slowdown, as we’ve seen in recent years.
The fundamental difference between the UCP and the NDP is that we believe that spending has been too high and they believe taxation has been too low. They have made it clear that their intention is to ramp up spending which comes with more taxation; which is something they’ve shown Albertans they have no problem doing.
We need to get government spending under control, and we need to get our economy moving again by facilitating investment and personal wealth creation.