Commentary
Albertans of a certain vintage are feeling a sense of déjà vu regarding Premier Danielle Smith’s announcement of a one-time payout of $100 for every Albertan living in a household with less than $225,000 combined income per year. Premier Ralph Klein announced just such a program a little more than 20 years ago, and his rationale for the payout was very similar to that used by the Smith government today. It’s ostensibly a payout to offset the cost-of-living challenges incurred by high oil prices while government revenues have been climbing.
There are, however, some striking differences between the plans.
A motivating factor neither premier would admit is that support for their respective parties had been taking a hit in public opinion polls. At his peak, Klein was arguably one of the most popular and successful premiers in Alberta history. In his later years in office, though, the popularity of the Progressive Conservative government dropped sharply. Klein handily won the 2001 general election with 61.9 percent of the vote. In 2004, his party won another majority, but support had dropped to 46.8 percent, and party insiders were worried. With large government surpluses due to high oil prices, the Klein administration hoped that putting money into Albertans’ pockets would give their sagging support a boost….