O O Ø O O O O
Ralph’s Rebates
Free markets take another hit.
Hon. Ralph Klein
Premier of Alberta
307,
10800 — 97
Avenue
Edmonton, AB
T5K 2B7
Mr. Klein. Your honour. Ralph.
Stop.
Your recent trial balloon—about offering a gasoline rebate to Alberta drivers—is a sign of a provincial administration with too much money, and too much time on its hands.
Do you really want to be remembered as just another Don Getty, or worse, another Peter Lougheed? These were red Tories who thought they could spend Albertans’ money better than we could. And spend they did.
Do you remember that nasty bit of business you did in the Nineties? It involved a lot of tough, unpopular decisions necessary to bring the accounts back in order. Did you really close Calgary’s Bow Valley hospital just so Johnny SUV and his trophy wife Bitzi could save 5¢ at the pump?
Let’s break this down. Who uses the most gasoline? Drivers of large vehicles. Who drives the largest vehicles? People with the most money. Who are the people with the most money? Those with the least need for a gasoline rebate.
Rather than encourage people to drive more fuel efficient cars, (like the new Mini: hot!) you would be actively subsidizing the continued purchase and use of SUVs. Mr. Klein, it’s one thing to be against the Kyoto accord (as I am), but it’s quite another to institute an anti-green tax.
I wonder why you think it would be a good idea for government to wade into the market-distortion game. You helped get Alberta out of the liquor-distortion racquet, and now no one would argue for a return to the bad old days of Ontario-style retail liquor prohibition. Similarly, you’ve been campaigning for freer health care, without all the smothering rules that make good health care impossible and unaffordable here in Canada and the United States.
So why tinker with gas? Sure, we produce the raw feed stock here, but that’s already reflected in the price. Albertans don’t need any further reward than that.
And the last thing Albertans need is you reallocating nickels from the pockets of transit riders into the centre console coin trays of our cities’ SUV drivers.
Evan Spence
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
PD DCLX
P.S. Heh. Transit riders. We still call it Ralph’s Train here in Calgary, Ralph. Think about that.
Ralph’s Response
July 26, 2004
Dear Mr. Spence:
Thank you for your July 13, 2004 letter regarding gas rebates. We continue to discuss the matter of fuel prices so your comments are welcome and appreciated.
One of the factors to consider will be the price of oil varying dramatically in a short time. Whatever course of action we take must be sustainable and consider the market’s price volatility for this commodity.
Once again, thanks very much for sharing your views with me.
Sincerely yours,
Ralph Klein
cc: Honourable Murray Smith, Minister of Energy, and Don Tannas, M.L.A. Highwood