Nelson: There’s no winning with our rainy day fund | Calgary Herald
fund
Chris Nelson, For The Calgary Herald, July 24, 2017
“It’s been three decades, but some things stick and I’m sure that was close to Getty’s exact words.
Six months later, Getty halted the annual depositing of a percentage of energy resource revenue into the fund — 15 per cent of royalties then, although it had been double that initially in 1976. Soon enough we were taking money out.
Of course, there was more to that decision than the advice of some Quebec politician. By 1987 Alberta was going through a bust that inevitably follows any boom, so this ‘temporary’ measure of halting inflows was announced. Yeah, sure, wasn’t income tax supposed to be temporary as well?
So, adjusting for inflation, in the mid-80s, the Heritage Savings Trust Fund was worth about $11,000 for every Albertan. Today, it’s worth a tad more than $4,000. ...”
First, if I win the lottery, I’m getting the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) to look after my newly arrived loot. That would be the arms-length bunch who’ve been administering the fund for many years — one of those rare wise decisions this province took, although the current lot are nibbling around the edges with their own picking-winners program.
OK, so the very good news? These overseers blew the doors off, managing an annual return close to 11 per cent. That resulted in more than $2 billion poured into the government’s general coffers in the last financial year.
Yep, that bountiful return was sucked into the maw and, poof, now it’s gone. The fund did hang onto about $182 million as inflation proofing, meaning we have $17.5 billion in various investments remaining. Current...”
http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/col...rainy-day-fund
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