With an increase of 17.3 per cent, Alberta's 2007 budget ushers in one of the largest budget-to-budget spending increases in the province's history.

It was also irresponsible and completely unnecessary.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has long recommended a legislated limit on how much the Alberta government could increase program spending each year. The limit would be based on the combined growth in Alberta's population and inflation rate. If, combined growth in our population and inflation rate was 5 per cent, the government would be limited to increasing program spending by no more than 5 per cent.

We advocate legislated spending limits because they not only reflect the growth in the economy, but the growth in government costs and the expected growth in tax revenues.

If Alberta's population rises by 2 per cent, the number of people paying taxes and therefore tax revenue should also rise by 2 per cent. If inflation grows by 3 per cent, wages and therefore income tax revenues should grow by 3 per cent as well.

It's similar for government costs. If there are 2 per cent more people living in Alberta, the government likely has to hire 2 per cent more doctors, nurses, and social workers. If inflation and the cost of living go up by 3 per cent, those same government employees will also be looking for a 3 per cent wage hike.

Moreover (and why we're concerned with a 17 per cent spending increase), if spending increases exceed tax revenue growth, governments have to find other sources of financing. In the 80s and early 90s the government relied on debt to cover the shortfall. Today, they're using resource revenues.

This past year the combined population and inflation growth rate was 6.8 per cent. If a spending limit had been implemented for Budget 2007, it would have resulted in program spending of $30 billion instead of $32.9 billion - $2.9 billion less than the "conservative" budget.

Alberta now spends $9,581 per every man woman and child - by far the highest province in the nation, and a $1,101 increase from last budget.

This year's increase in program spending is being sold to Albertans as "catch-up" or a "one-time" increase in spending to "manage our growth." Unfortunately, this is the same tune finance ministers have been singing for much of the past decade.

Ominously, this year's budget looked like Finance Minister Pat Nelson's infamous 24.5 per cent spending hike in 2001.

Unfortunately for her and all Albertans, oil and natural gas prices collapsed through the spring and summer, and even further following 9/11, draining billions out of the provincial treasury.

This collapse in prices while damaging to revenues, wasn't unexpected. In fact, in her 2001 budget speech Nelson warned, "The reality is we simply don't know what might happen to oil and gas prices tomorrow let alone three years from now. No one does."

And boy was she right.

The government reacted to the revenue drop by cutting 1 per cent out of every ministry budget, freezing government hiring, eliminating community lottery boards and deferring nearly a billion dollars in capital projects.

And that was when program spending was sitting at $21 billion. Imagine what the Stelmach government will have to cut if resource prices drop today

It's now perfectly clear this government is addicted to spending and woefully in need of an intervention. Like an addict, they keep saying next year is the year they're going kick the habit. If history repeats itself the government may need to hit rock-bottom before they get serious about their problem.

Grab the aspirin, taxpayers, this could be quite the hangover.