Work hard, but also work smart-Rural Values are Alberta Values-Part 1

One of the most common concerns I hear from folks is that our governments are getting away from the core values that once made our province and our country strong.

This is of great concern to me, because we didn’t come by our values the easy way. They are a reflection of the struggles we have faced and the lessons we have learned over three, four, and five generations. We have faced harsh winters, drought, floods, and prairie fires, not to mention two World Wars and a Great Depression. Our legacy is the values that we learned from our parents and teach our children.

Here is one lesson that seems to be lost on today’s leaders: Work hard but also work smart.

Governments should not, as the late Premier Ralph Klein put it, be in the business of being in business. Once government begins doling out corporate welfare piecemeal and directly investing in businesses, it exposes taxpayers to the kind of risky investments the private sector simply will not tolerate.

This also leads, inevitably, to a disease known as Shiny Object Syndrome. Simply put, Shiny Object Syndrome is the government equivalent of small children chasing after shiny objects. Once they get there and see what the object is, they immediately lose interest and start chasing the next shiny thing. 

Our provincial government currently has a number of shiny fixations, from technology to renewable energy. Progress in these sectors (and many more) is necessary for long-term success. However, true progress is always market driven. When governments start trying to dictate the path of innovation by picking winners and losers, unacceptable waste of taxpayer’s money is sure to follow.

Governments’ role, rather, should be to maintain an environment where creators choose to invest by keeping taxes low and removing unnecessary regulatory hurdles.

Risk evaporates when you work with the markets, instead of fighting them. Or, as our ancestors taught us: Work hard, but also work smart.

Some of the more elitist elements within our governments tend to look down on such values, and dismiss them as rural remnants of a bygone era. This is incredibly short sighted. These values aren’t just rural values or conservative values, they’re foundational Albertan values.

To get our province back on track we need to get back to what works for us.

- Rural Values are Alberta Values is a series of opinion columns by Drew Barnes, MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat.