New Year, old problems.
We will set the year 2020 in memory as one of
the worst that people like me will remember. A few fireworks lit up the sky
above our beloved mountain towns, and people will remember being alone during
the holidays. Some will feel blessed that worst didn’t happen, but we know that
so many suffered more than their share. The economy has been depressed for a
few years, many lost their parents and grandparents, and the younger folks are
struggling. Some must work in constant danger, (my daughter is a nurse) some
work from home while playing teachers and child caregivers, and others simply
lost jobs and businesses. This is made worst by all of us knowing some people
who decided not to believe that there is a problem and are going around proudly
spreading conspiracy theories and germs. That is their way to do “positive
thinking” while spreading the killer virus.
The president of the United States was chief
rumour spreader, and by the end of the year, over 300,000 of his people were
buried. Here in Alberta, we found ourselves short on hospital staff with those
still working demoralized by the news that they may lose their jobs as soon as
things improve. If anyone cares for my opinion, we are suffering from poor
management on top of the pandemic.
The new year started with a crisis in the
capital of our big neighbours. A mob was set up by the outgoing president to
attempt an armed coup. They failed, but five people died. My parents used to
talk about revolutions. Their parents saw the Russian Communist revolution, and
they suffered first hand from the Nazis’ takeover of Germany. I am scared of
events like those. As the first month of 2021 is rolling by and I see the
combination of pandemic and bad management seriously impacting my beloved
province, I wonder if we are safe and if people reach their limits. I don’t
know how it can play within the Canadian establishment, but there are ominous
signs of trouble.
I came to Alberta from Israel, so I always
compare the two. Israel 22,145 sq. Kilometers, 9 million people, half are
original Palestinians, no natural resources, and the constant danger of war.
Alberta 661,800 sq. km, less than 4 million people and lots of resources chief
amongst them oil which we always knew will run out. The province has no
concerns about defence and receives or contribute to the national welfare
depending on need. Why is it that Alberta is not feeling on top of the world?
We were set up to do so by our greatest Premier fifty years ago.
The problem as I said is bad management. We
had a temporary injection of wealth and could have been the best economy in the
free world. What we did instead is sold ourselves to oil interests, ignoring
the future. We had oil locked up in sand, knew that it was expensive to
produce, and unwisely placed all our eggs in one basket, thinking that we would
be able to force the world to buy it. We were in such a hurry to make a quick
buck that we failed to ensure that there would be a way to transport it to
markets.
Bad speculation followed us. Towards the end
of the 2020 disaster year, we invested the last of our savings financing a
pipeline from the oilsands to the bottom of the continent while knowing that
the soon to come US elections can render the project bankrupt. We set our
revenue back by earlier tax cuts (not for me) and in my local community, we are
facing a conflict between ranchers and miners.
The pandemic made us face other problems not
unique to just us. We either shut down the economy now or lose vast amounts of
money, and lives, later. If we stop the economy and not help people and small
businesses, there is going to be hell to pay. Any help that would have been
available from the Federal government in normal times will have to be reduced
since all the provinces and territories are in the same dire straits. You can’t
squeeze money from a rock.
I watch 2021 beginning and I fear that the
last year may have not only been a terrible year but could be the beginning of
a real test. What I need is some sign of hope. Like people who struggled with
addictions, I realize that there are steps a person must take before healing.
First, you must hit bottom. We did. Next, you
acknowledge that there is a problem and accept responsibility. Later you
realize that you must make some changes or suffer to death. Well, it sounds
harsh.
I don’t want to be ranting and demoralizing
people, so I look for that silver lining in the dark clouds. It is always there
if you look hard and long enough.
The pandemic will be over when enough people
will be immunized. We only have to be careful and stay alive until we beat it.
Then we have to deal with the problems that we caused in the last thirty to
fifty years. Namely, we kind of have to go on a diet and get away from an
unsustainable way of living. I say “we” but I mean those of us who took so much
that the working people can’t sustain.
It is not impossible or even very difficult.
There are countries that do it, and we can fly over and see with our own eyes.
I go to popular tourist places just like the rest of you, and I meet people
from other places. Two years ago I was talking to some Germans in Waterton.
They are comparable to my wife and I, working
middle-class people, but they enjoy benefits that we can only dream of.
We can have an easier life if we only demand
that our governments will look after our interests first and be less concerned
with corporate profits. As simple as that.
