Here's the proof regarding per capita social spending:

“ Alberta spends $2,422 per person on education, the highest per capita education spending of any province, and $424 more than the provincial average. “The idea that increasing education spending by 4.7 percent, as announced in today’s budget, will deal with the challenges in education without more fundamental reform is simply wrong,” he adds.

Surprising to many is the fact that Alberta has the highest consolidated per capita spending in the country at $9,860. “Alberta is by far the biggest spender on a per capita basis, spending $832 more than the national average,” commented Clemens.


http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/shared...sNav=nr&id=518

There are fair more homeless people walking the streets of Toronto or Vancouver than Calgary or Edmonton - even on a per capita basis, I see no evidence that the others are doing a better job than Alberta. Alberta has been extremely generous with treaty Indian bands regarding sharing resource revenues derived on Indian reserves. Being able to purchase a new car from resource money (that was held in trust) on your 18th birthday ain't that bad like they have at Hobbema for example. To be sure, not all Indian reserves in Alberta are in this position, but I don't see any other province being this generous, yet they have plenty of resources too.

I already said that Klein's party was giving him the boot, and I agree with much of what your said. However, his early departure also has to do with his party's nervousness about his "3rd way" for healthcare that he was pushing hard for - you can't discount this factor. The public didn't buy it and the party was nervous about that fact. Klein's "3rd way" would have cost a lot of public support for the party, and that is why you don't hear much about it anymore.

Sorry I don't hold much faith in the Fraser Institute it's nothing more than a right wing think tank, that by and large thinks the Klein Government has done a wonderful job.

Education spending unfortunately does not include anywhere near enough for infrastructure and hasn't for a good number of years and that is for all levels of education. Thus a $500 million repair deficit in Calgary alone and who knows how much in the rest of the province.

I don't see any comment on the welfare numbers or the lack of support for the mentally and physically challenged in your above comments only the homeless. Alberta does a very poor job of looking after these individuals.

To some degree I might agree about the parties nervousness regarding Ralph's "Third Way" but the "Third Way" was mostly in Kleins mind and his mind alone. He never at any time managed to articulate what the "Third Way" was.

What source would you believe, the NDP's research arm? It hardly matters what the source of the information is as long as they don't editorialize. In the quote I posted, they mentioned what the numbers were - it wasn't some editorial - and Alberta was on top of social spending. I'd give you other sources, but my Internet connection is only intermittent (damned wireless). I'm a little surprised that you don't know that Alberta has the highest social spending (per capita) because I've seen it in the media many times.

Wow, I know that it's not unknown for me to divert a thread, but this one has gone off to new heights.

Yep and I've ONLY just posted on it!!!!!!

.... and Wilmore and HWP haven't even started posting here!!!!!