Alberta is Debt Free!
I am really proud to be an Albertan right now. Our provincial government announced today that our province is officially debt free. I know Ralph Klein has a lot of people who don't believe in what he was doing as he focused on Alberta's future of a debt-free province. Liberal Leader Kevin Taft said today, "There's no point to having a surplus when Albertans walk into crowded hospitals and classrooms and drive on crumbling roads." And though I see the concerns with crowded hospitals, having worked in them alongside staff, it is incredibly worse in Saskatchewan and other provinces. Classroom sizes are a moot point for this homeschooing mama. I chose to school my children rather than have them be lumped into a room with 30+ students... though I fail to see the difference between our province and others in terms of class size. I also fail to see the crumbling roads Taft mentions... anyone driving outside of this province will likely see a decline in road upkeep as soon as they leave the province, especially going eastward. It has long been a running joke of my husbands family that you know when you have hit Saskatchewan, the potholes will engulf your car at the border. You only have to drive the streets of Lloydminster to see the reality of that fact.

The one conflict I have with our premier on his beliefs is his inability to listen past the doctors, to realize that midwifery is a much more cost-effective way to support pregnant and birthing women than either FP or OB care. I wish that our letters to him and to his Health Minister would be read, truly read, and they understand that the dictatorship doctors have on modern medicine will be their demise as they try to hold on to the healthcare money themselves. Don't get me wrong, doctors are a very important part of healthcare, but not when it comes to the normal physiological process of pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. When this becomes high-risk, OB's are invaluable, but with 95% of women having normal, low-risk pregnancies and birth, there is absolutely no reason a specialist is needed. This would also dramatically reduce the cesarean rate, the intervention rate and improve outcomes for both mothers and babies. That has been proven in countries where midwives are the primary caregivers of women, like Holland for instance.

And maybe I don't see her point, but protester Donna McPhe shouted "Dictator!" at the announcement and accused Klein of balancing the books on the backs of the poor. We are a family with a single income and four children... we also recieved a good amount of bonus money from child tax as well as on our gas bill. That means we definitely were classified as the "working poor," and though we are by no means well off, we are doing fine. I credit that to my frugal husband who knows how to avoid debt by following a strict budget... not unlike our premier. I too often see aquantances and friends who misuse credit cards and their lines of credit on frivolous stuff that is inconsequential, except for the debt they are creating of course. Then they file bancrupcy because they can't pay off the new furniture and cars they have gone in to debt for. No thanks, I would rather avoid the stress of that myself by driving a used (but very reliable) vehicle and saving for furniture.

Yeehaw Alberta!