I think spring is here. We are having beautiful weather, sunny, warm and not too much wind. It is really nice when spring has started and we know that things will soon be turning green. That saying “April showers bring May flowers” comes to mind. The water is starting to run again after a brief freeze up. The snow in the fields is not really snow, it is really ice. There is a lot of water out there in the fields when that ice melts.
On the home front Jaco has worked at the elevator all week. The big sliding doors were showing their age and the one on the north was coming apart. The wind buffets it a lot and it needed help. He replaced one panel and bolted the door together with more bolts than before. It looks solid now. There will have to be a better system to keep the door stable when open and he is working on making a guide for the bottom of the door to keep it stable so the wind doesn’t catch it.
Today, Jaco is supervising three 11-year-olds who thought we needed five new windows and some holes in the plasterboard in the elevator office. They are learning it is a lot easier to smash things than fix them. I give credit to their parents who agreed to send their boys on a work bee to repair things. My hat is off to these parents as it is not always easy to raise a child and these children will be better adults for the experience. These boys will gain work experience and know a little bit about working for a living. They will also know how to put in a window and fix plasterboard. These young men, I hope, will never be repeat offenders and with good parents like this they can become valuable adults.
In political news, both Saskatchewan and Alberta governments have brought out their budgets for 2015. These are the figures I found on the Internet. Saskatchewan has a budget of $14.28 billion with $2.5 billion of oil revenue (17.5 per cent for 2015). The Saskatchewan government was not as dependant on oil revenue as the Alberta government. Saskatchewan was able to balance the budget and hold the line on tax increases. The only down part of the budget is the Saskatchewan government not being able to pay down debt that sits at $11.9 billion. Saskatchewan is blessed with potash, mining, lumber and a large agricultural base besides the oil. Saskatchewan was not hurt as badly by the down turn in oil price as they receive revenue from many other sources.
Alberta on the other hand, whose budget is $48.6 billion, used to have tax revenue of 43 per cent from oil in the budget is really hurt by the down turn. To try to balance the budget they have brought in new taxes and charges. The flat tax on income tax has been boosted. There will be health care premiums for people making more than $50,000. There are tax increases on liquor, wine and beer, 90 cents per case. Cigarettes are going up $5 per pack. Traffic fines, court documents are all up 35 per cent. Four cents a litre on fuel sales has been added. There will be 244 jobs lost at education with no losses at teacher positions. Almost 1,700 jobs cut from health care with no cutbacks at front-line workers like nurses and doctors. There will be no new hospitals and no sales tax. There will be no increase in the corporate business tax in Alberta. All these tax increases will raise $1.5 billion and the province will still run a deficit of $5 billion. They are hoping oil prices come up so the province can meet their expenses again.
I think before the apple trees are finished blooming, Albertans will head to the polls. I see they are going through the constituencies and not allowing anyone who has bad histories to run for election. There are lots of good honest people out there. That is the people you want to represent the voters. Crooks can stay home.
On the Ottawa front, we are all waiting with bated breath for Joe Oliver to deliver the federal budget. The federal government has delayed bringing forth the budget. This is never good news.
Joke of the week from Marcella Pederson: There was an old married couple and they had many confrontations. The neighbours could hear them shouting in the night. The old man would shout, “When I die, you old hag, I will dig my way out of the grave and come back and haunt you.” The neighbours were also afraid of him and the old man liked that fact. Finally at 88 years old the old man died and his wife had a closed casket funeral. After the funeral the neighbours asked the old lady if she was afraid the old man would dig himself out and come back to haunt her. “Let the old dog dig,” she said. “I had him buried face down and I know he wouldn’t stop and ask for directions!”
