Celebrating his tenth anniversary as Premier on December 12, Ralph Klein can be proud of having reduced Alberta's debt from $20.3 billion down to $5.3 billion. Alberta taxpayers now lose only 3% of their provincial tax dollars to debt servicing, down from a high of 11.5% in 1994. No other province in Canada comes even close to Alberta in having 97% of tax dollars available for government programs.

Some say Premier Klein reduced the debt through sheer "luck" of high prices for oil and gas. Not true, for two reasons. First, although there were fat years like 2000, when $10.6 billion flowed into the government's coffers, there were also lean years like 1998, when oil and gas brought in $2.4 billion. Premier Klein was able to reduce Alberta's debt because he first reduced the size of government by 30% in real terms, a remarkable achievement not matched by anyone else, then or since. Second, Alberta's wealth is no accident. Rather, it is the result of pro-business policies which have allowed Alberta's oil, gas and other natural resources to be developed. In contrast, governments in B.C. and Saskatchewan have threatened investors and businessmen with nationalization and other wealth confiscation policies, so that the resources of these provinces are not developed to their full potential.

Klein's government has also provided Albertans with the fairest and most family-friendly personal income tax system in Canada. Alberta's basic personal exemption of $13,339 is higher than in any other province, and almost double the federal income tax exemption of $7,634. While the federal government continues to wage a tax war against the poor, Alberta's combined personal and spousal exemptions total $26,678 - by far the highest in Canada.

However, since 1996 Alberta's spending on government programs is up by 53%, in contrast to only 12% population growth and 14% inflation. In the 2001-02 fiscal year, Alberta spent more on government programs, per person, than any other province in Canada. This 53% spending increase led to $641 million in tax increases in the March 2002 budget, breaking Klein's pre-election promise of lower taxes.

Alberta's cabinet, reduced from 26 to 17 when Klein took office, has grown back to 24 members. The MLA pension plan, abolished with great fanfare just before the 1993 provincial election, has been replaced with a $6,750-per-year "RSP allowance" plus severance pay packages equal to one fourth of the MLA's or Minister's earnings over the course of their political career.

After years of restraint and modest increases, Alberta's doctors, nurses, provincial government employees, MLAs and teachers have all received double-digit wage increases, far in excess of workers in the private sector. The option of helping all Albertans (both public sector and private sector) by reducing taxes has been rejected. Instead, the health care premium tax was raised to $1,056 per year per Alberta family.

Premier Klein's legacy of debt reduction and income tax reform continues to benefit Alberta taxpayers today. But when it comes to the size of cabinet, MLA compensation, public sector salary increases, and the level of government spending, Klein's revolution has been largely reversed.