The price of car insurance has a huge impact on the family budget because Canadians don't have a lot of disposable income. Canadians don't have a lot of disposable income because they keep only 49% of their earnings. The other 51% of our wealth is consumed by three levels of government, which take our money through GST, income tax, property tax, the health care premium tax, fuel taxes, business taxes, air travel taxes, taxes on insurance, etc. The Fraser Institute calculates that in 2003, the average Canadian worked from January 1 to June 27 to finance three levels of government, and started working for herself on June 28.

In Alberta, too, car insurance is a hot issue because our disposable income is so small, thanks to Paul Martin and Ralph Klein and their insatiable appetite for more revenues.

The Alberta government pretends to care about high car insurance prices, while collecting a 3% hidden sales tax off every policy that is sold. If your car insurance costs you $1,200 per year, Premier Klein is collecting $36 from you. The Alberta government could lower car insurance rates by 3% tomorrow, just by scrapping this sales tax. This 3% tax is also applied to home and business insurance. Eliminating it would save Albertans $165 million per year - over $200 per family.

But eliminating the 3% insurance tax is only the first step that the Klein government could take to make it easier for Albertans to pay for their car insurance. Alberta's government is swimming in our money. Here are some ways in which provincial politicians pick your pockets each month:

• Alberta families must pay a health care premium tax of $1,056 per year, or $88 per month. This money goes into general revenues, like money from every other tax.
• Provincial income tax costs Albertans $5 billion per year, or $530 per month for a family of four.
• Business taxes cost Albertans - as consumers or owners or shareholders - almost $2 billion per year, or $204 per month for a family of four.
• Provincial property tax costs Albertans $1.2 billion per year, or $127 per month for a family of four.
• Provincial fuel tax costs Albertans $607 million per year, or $63 per month for a family of four.
• The 3% hidden sales tax on insurance costs us $165 million per year, or $17 per month per Alberta family.

Even for a family in which nobody smokes, gambles or drinks alcohol, this means a provincial tax bill of $1,029 per month. Mom and dad don't see this $1,029 taken off of their pay cheques, but that is what the average Alberta family pays in provincial tax each month when you include both visible and hidden taxes.

There are many ways for Premier Klein to reduce the $1,029-per-month tax burden on Alberta families. One option is scrapping the health care premium tax and the 3% hidden sales tax on insurance. That would put an extra $105 dollars per month in the pockets of the average Alberta family, month after month after month. And that would make it easier for Albertans to pay for car insurance, and pay for whatever else they choose, with their own money. After all, it was Albertans - not their government - who earned the money in the first place.