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'The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed by menacing it with an endless series of hobglobins, all of them imaginary.'
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HOW COULD WE ALTERNATIVELY SPEND $845 MILLION TO BE SPEND BURYING CARBON
"DIOXIDE IN A HOLE?”

The Frontier Centre releases an “opportunity cost” list for the cost of burying Alberta’s carbon emissions

“How would you spend $845 million?” – That’s the question the Frontier Centre in Alberta wants Albertans to think about in light of provincial plans to spend $845 million to bury the carbon dioxide emissions underground. The Centre has set up an interactive opportunity cost calculator to show how the $845 million could be alternatively spent. Options include higher spending on education and healthcare, lower personal, business and fuel taxes, to hiring many more nurses and doctors or building public housing in Alberta.

Simply type in the amount of money you would like to save/spend on each item, or use the arrows to allocate the maximum amount possible. The figure at the top will constantly update to show you how much money you have left to play with!


Opportunity Costs of Carbon Capture Spending in Alberta: $
Alberta Provincial Budget Expenditures
Health 16,845,000,000 increase
Education 9,436,000,000 increase
Social Services 4,727,000,000 increase
Agriculture, Resource Management and Economic Development 2,208,000,000 increase
Transportation, Communications and Utilites 1,895,000,000 increase
Protection of Persons and Property 1,587,000,000 increase
Regional Planning and Development 1,122,000,000 increase
Environment 394,000,000 increase
Recreation and Culture 370,000,000 increase
Housing 250,000,000 increase
General Government 2,144,000,000 increase
Other possibilities including more specific choices
Construct 2000 units of public housing at $250,000 each 500,000,000 yes
Hire 500 more general physicians at cost of $200,000 each to province 100,000,000 yes
Hire 500 more specialist physicians at average at cost of $300,000 each to province 150,000,000 yes
Hire 2,000 more nurses at an average cost of $100,000 each to province 200,000,000 yes
Hire 1,000 more police officers (local and RCMP) at an average cost of $100,000 each to the province 100,000,000 yes
Alberta Provincial Budget Revenues
Personal lncome tax 9,314,000,000 reduce
Business tax 4,471,000,000 reduce
Education tax 1,762,000,000 reduce
Tobacco tax 925,000,000 reduce
Fuel tax 850,000,000 reduce
Insurance tax 344,000,000 reduce
Mineral tax 152,000,000 reduce
Tourism tax 73,000,000 reduce
Bitumen royalty 5,653,000,000 reduce
Crude oil royalty 2,100,000,000 reduce
Natural gas royalty 1,222,000,000 reduce
Sales of crown leases and bonuses 2,037,000,000 reduce
Resource rentals and fees 151,000,000 reduce
Coal royalty 35,000,000 reduce
Gaming and lottery 1,336,000,000 reduce
Liquor tax 701,000,000 reduce
Treasury branches 214,000,000 reduce
Motor vehicle licence taxes 429,000,000 reduce
Crop, hail and livestock insurance premiums 273,000,000 reduce
Energy industry levies 162,000,000 reduce
Land title fees 68,000,000 reduce
Supplementary health benefits premiums 58,000,000 reduce



Future Solutions for Retirement Security & Pensions with The Honourable Ted Menzies - June 27, 2013

Upcoming Events

Dams & Transmission Lines: Are There Responsible Alternatives?
with Ed Schreyer, Former Governor General of Canada & Premier of Manitoba
June 25, 2013 — Winnipeg

Future Solutions for Retirement Security & Pensions
with The Honourable Ted Menzies
June 27, 2013 — Calgary

'The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed by menacing it with an endless series of hobglobins, all of them imaginary.'

Upcoming FCPP Appearances

Watch for more appearances soon - to book a Frontier speaker for your community club or organization contact newideas@fcpp.org

Mon June 17, 2013

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