Erotic Numbers

I recently got a call from a guy from the town. "I'm seeing some erotic numbers coming off your water meter," he says. To be fair, he was a Newfoundlander.

But that got me thinking about numbers. I'm not great with numbers. If I was a Barbie, I would have been the one that said "Math is hard." If I looked anything like Barbie that is.

I'm not great at math. But I LOVE numbers. Erotic, erratic or whatever. 

Here's a sexy number:

$207,000

The premier's salary. It's increased 54% in the past 10 years. Even after he forfeit 5% because we all have to "share the pain." Even though he gave up a reported 7 figure salary to serve as Alberta's saviour.

Here's another number. 

23%

That's the increase in teacher's salaries over the past 10 years. In 2014, a first year teacher in my school division made $58,512 which is less than the average salary in Alberta - $60,476. The NDP says that teachers have experienced a 7% decrease in salary after inflation is factored in.

Or how about this lovely little number?

51%

That's the increase in undergraduate engineering tuition fees since 2006. Thank you "market modifiers."  U of A tuition 2014 is $8163.36

10%

Alberta 's flat tax. We're the only province with a flat tax. Does that mean we are all equal since we all pay the same percent of our income in provincial taxes? Unlike every other province where the rich pay more and the poor pay less?  Even Premier Prentice admits the flat tax "bites the working poor pretty hard."

In fact, the CBC says Albertans do NOT have the lowest taxes in Canada. We're strictly middle of the pack-unless you make over $130,000- and even then, residents of the NWT and Nunavut pay less and BC residents pay almost the same.

And wait...since 1982, the bottom half of earners in Alberta have only seen their incomes improve by 3.4%. For those in the top 1% that increase is 60%

26,000

That's how many Albertans live on minimum wage of $10.20 an hour, a number that has risen by 1 cent in real terms in the past 40 years.

3

Increase in school fees in Alberta have tripled in the past five years, as school boards try to balance their books in light of decreased government funding.

10%

That's the percent of Alberta's children who live in poverty. Half of those are children of parents who work full time. 

49,766

That's how many people used a food bank in Alberta in 2014. Up 48% in the past 7 years.

With a progressive tax where the rich pay more, the province could generate 

$4,500,000,000 

And here's another number for you.

0% 

...chance I will be voting PC in the next provincial election.