Re: Alberta pension plan (APP)
Albertans have a provincial government bent on imposing unpopular ideas/policies despite opposition from many Albertans and from many municipal politicians.
For example, replacing the RCMP with a provincial police force or with local police forces.
Our premier now wants to replace CPP with a provincial pension plan (APP). Why? Canada has one of the best pension plans in the world, yet we have folks here who want Albertans to drop their CPP. Remember these old sayings: “ Don’t switch horses in the middle of a stream” or “If it’s too good to be true”. “Pie in the sky” ideas can have devastating effect on people, especially those folks who can ill afford to gamble with their hard earned pensions.
Recently, supporters of the Alberta First Pension Plan had a meeting at the Olds Cow Palace, hosted by the local UCP association, with Tanner Hnidey and Mitch Sylvestre trying to convince Albertans that an APP would be a “sure-fire” success over CPP.
Folks should have become suspicious when the promotors of this plan blame the high cost of living, inflation, taxes, etc on the Liberals, never once mentioning that higher food prices, gasoline prices, and inflation are influenced by many factors such as “poor political decisions”, greedy landlords, selfish grocery store owners, credit card companies and furniture companies enticing customers to “spend money now”, energy companies making billions more every year off people who have become depended on their vehicles, the war in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, OPEC, wasteful spending by provincial and federal politicians and the ongoing “Cold War Part II” conflict pitting the U.S. and its allies against Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.
All those things influence the cost of living/inflation.
Another factor involves many Albertans “living beyond their means” - excessive use of credit cards -they should be called “debt cards”. Remember the old saying, “The more we earn the more we spend." It seems that too many Albertans would rather spend money than save money. We’re encouraged to: “Buy now. Pay later”. “You deserve it”. “It’s only X per month”, etc.
The presenters failed to mention that CPP, as well as OAS were never meant to be the sole retirement incomes for retirees. Canadians have been told many times that they should look at investing their own money into TFSA or into conservative mutual funds to supplement their federal government pension plans.
The presenters claimed the APP would raise Alberta seniors pensions by a whopping 40 per cent. “Beware of strangers bearing gifts” (from the epic poem Aeneid written by the Roman poet Virgil). Folks should be careful about pie-in-the-sky ideas and high-sounding boasts “If it’s too good to be true." Trust your instincts; take a long, hard look at your options before investing your hard earned money.
Reminder: Provincial and federal governments are responsible for changes to CPP contributions and benefits. The long-term value and stability of CPP is evaluated every three years, and the funds are managed by an independent board of directors without political interference.
Can we say that Alberta would do the same? Who would be chosen to manage APP? How would the managers be held accountable for their decisions? And by whom?
Have we forgotten how Bernie Madoff, a financial guru, “conned” $65 billion from investors in his “get rich” Ponzi scheme. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison but died after serving only 12 years.
How about the “Crypto King” of America Sam Beckman-Fried, another investment “guru” whose company FTX, defrauded investors out of $8 billion in his bit-coin, get rich Ponzi schemes?
How about the Elizabeth Holmes’s company, another financial whiz whose company Theranos defrauded millions from investors (including some who were very famous people such as ex-president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister of England Tony Blair, and numerous celebrities) in her “blood testing” scheme? She was convicted of fraud and now serving time in prison.
So, what do all these investment “gurus” have in common? They all promised high financial returns with “alluring” notions that investors would quickly become rich.
Instead, folks should have discussions with“wealth managers” in local banks, credit unions, nationally known investment firms, ATB Financial services, with companies that have their retirement plans or even with CPP. “Don’t switch horses in the middle of the stream."
Albertans should decide on the APP through a referendum, not by a handful of people in the legislature. As well, Albertans should have a vote on replacing the RCMP with a provincial police force or even local police forces.
They should have a vote on expanding dental health care for all Albertans. They should be allowed to vote on spending public money on private business interests (like energy companies and private schools). They should be allowed to vote on the development of coal mining operations on the eastern slope of the Canadian Rockies, and they should decide whether to allow partisan politics into local governments. If partisan politics are not working very well in America, why should Albertans adopt those ideas?
Some issues are too important to be left up to politicians.
As Will Rogers (famous cowboy philosopher) said, “The short-term memories of voters is what keep politicians in office."
George Thatcher,
Olds
