The young child cried out, “The emperor has no clothes”. Only then did the emperor realize what he had to do – get dressed. In the late 1970s when I moved to Alberta, I was a self-selecting economic/political migrant. I…
Alberta has no clothes
Balancing the Budget
Ted shines in this article. We have the principal benefit from Mr. Lougheed’s reign, lets use the damn thing – the “notwithstanding clause” – and get the public service under control. So now is the time for Alberta to use…
Please Don’t Feed the Animals – A Lesson from Alberta to Alberta
This statement tells you a lot about our government and our culture and is provided by a good friend: Alberta Provincial Social Services (welfare) is proud to be distributing this year the greatest amount of money ever. Meanwhile, Alberta Parks,…
Big Government Planning; Why Does it Persist?
I would have thought that we had more than enough recorded experience to disabuse even the most stubborn of us that big government planning is effective or useful. But still we persist in applying this solution to all manner of…
No praise for the Peace Bridge
I come to bury the Peace Bridge, not to praise it. The statistics around the Peace Bridge, otherwise known as Farrell’s Folly, are legend. The construction overruns, the time overruns–the initial crossing of over $25 million versus a fraction of…
The canary was dead: to begin with
Democracy is not the answer; I am not going to throw my alderman out of office because of this one issue. Voting with my feet is not a realistic option either; I have too much invested in living in Calgary. …
What would selling Enmax mean? Perspective 2
Under the current ownership structure, all Enmax employees, directors, and officers (“Enmaxians”) are owned by a municipality and not immediately accountable for capital and other related costs to the open market. They cannot benchmark themselves quickly and easily against competing…
What would selling Enmax mean? Perspective 1
What would selling Enmax mean, some of the practical consequences: Two Perspectives. As a Calgarian. As an Enmaxian, employee or director. As a Calgarian Let me assume that we could sell Enmax for $5.0 Billion. That would mean $5,000 per…
You should not be forced to own Enmax
The Financial Argument There is a very important reason I should be able to choose. It is not morally proper that I be forced to own Enmax, from a financial perspective. Let me deconstruct that proposition. Morally justified because there…
What would life be like if Calgary sold Enmax?
The Moral Argument City of Calgary owns Enmax. Enmax is a profitable, cash flow positive (so far) investment. Their motto is a dramatic form of irony: Applied to electrical purchasing, “you have the right to choose” is a fine motto. …