"My name is the Government of Alberta, and I have a spending problem."

These are the words fiscal policy wonks, economists, and taxpayer watchdogs have been longing to hear from our provincial leaders for the past few years. The Government of Alberta has a spending problem, and the first step to tackle any problem is to admit you indeed have a problem.

Recently, Alberta's new Premier, Ed Stelmach and Alberta's new Finance Minister, Lyle Oberg, came very close to making this admission.

A newspaper story declared both Stelmach and Oberg had "pledged a more disciplined approach in Stelmach's first budget."

Dr. Oberg went further to say, "What we're looking at is a decrease to the increases."

Oberg was referring to annual spending increases which have averaged nearly 11 per cent a year over the past four budgets, greatly outpacing both Alberta's average 2.6 per cent annual inflation rate and 2 per cent annual growth in population during the same period.

Unfortunately, the same news story reported that neither Stelmach nor Oberg had any specific ideas about how they were going to control spending.

That's ok fellas, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is happy to help.

The CTF is proposing the Alberta government introduce legislation limiting growth in annual program expenditures to no more than the combined annual growth rate in Alberta's population and inflation rate.

For example, in Budget 2006, the Alberta government hiked program spending by 9.9 per cent over Budget 2005. During 2005, Alberta's inflation rate averaged 2.4 per cent growth, and Alberta's population grew by 2.8 per cent.

Under an expenditure limitation law, the Alberta government would have only been able to increase their expenditures by (the combined) 5.2 per cent. This would have resulted in a savings of nearly $1.2-billion this year alone - easily enough money to eliminate Alberta's health care premium tax.

In fact, had the government introduced a legislated spending limit in 2004 after they paid off the provincial debt, the government would be spending $26.1-billion this year, rather than $29.5-billion.

This would have saved taxpayers $3.4-billion this year - a family of four could be saving $4,000 in taxes.

It's worth noting Alberta has had considerable success using legislation to control government finances, particularly during the early-to-mid Klein era. Premier Klein smartly introduced the CTF inspired, Balanced Budget and Debt Retirement Act in 1995. The Act outlawed his government from running deficit budgets and prescribed a minimum payment that must be made each year towards the provincial debt.

In 1999, after the province's debt had nearly been halved, the government was under tremendous pressure to abandon their debt repayment promise and spend surplus dollars. Premier Klein once again smartly handcuffed his government by introducing the Fiscal Responsibility Act which prescribed a minimum of 75 per cent of all surplus dollars be put toward debt repayment.

Oh how time has passed. Spending is now wildly out of control in Alberta, growing by 47 per cent over the past four years. Albertans are rightfully starting to grow concerned about the sustainability of future budgets if provincial spending isn't reigned in.

In fact, six in ten Albertans surveyed in an October 2006 Ipsos-Reid poll of 800 Albertans, commissioned by the CTF, indicated support for legislation that would restrict annual growth in provincial government program spending to some measure such as the rate of inflation and the rate of population growth.

It isn't just the fiscal policy wonks, the economists, and the tax watchdog groups calling for expenditure control legislation anymore - it's Albertans.