Only 14 months after promising you that "the only way taxes are going in this province are down," Premier Ralph Klein has started taking more money out of your pocket. In blatant violation of the promise he made prior to his 2001 re-election, Alberta Budget 2002-03 has $722 million in tax increases, offset by only $81 million in tax cuts for businesses.

The day after breaking his word to Albertans, Ralph told reporters he "had to" raise taxes. Indeed, sooner or later somebody "had to" pay for the Alberta government's spending spree over the past six year. Budget 1996-97 saw total spending on all government programs (health, education, social services, transportation, infrastructure) of $12.8 billion. Budget 2002-03 will see taxpayers shell out $18.6 billion for politicians to spend on government programs - an increase of 45%.

But hasn't Alberta's population grown since 1996, and hasn't there been inflation Yes, cumulative inflation from 1996 to 2002 is 16%. And Alberta's population is up 12%, from 2.78 million to 3.13 million.

If government spending had risen with inflation and population growth, Budget 2002-03 would see $16.7 billion spent on programs instead of $18.6 billion. That would leave $1.9 billion more in the pockets of Albertans. But it gets better. If government spending since 1996 had increased with population and inflation, Alberta would be completely debt-free today, not paying $585 million on debt servicing costs this year. The bottom line: an extra $795 left in the pocket of every man, woman and child in Alberta, or $3,180 for a family of four.

What would your family do with an extra $3,180 Take a vacation Or perhaps a longer or better vacation Renovate the house Give more to charity Use it towards a new car Pay off some personal debt Save for your children's education Save for your own retirement

It's irrelevant, because your $3,180 will be spent by politicians. On worthy causes, no doubt. Higher salaries for doctors, nurses, MLAs, provincial government employees - and even for teachers, to a lesser extent. Private sector workers don't get raises of 15% or 20% over two years, yet they are forced to pay for public sector workers who do.

The Alberta government should start asking three questions about every government ministry, program, and project: is it really necessary for government to perform this task Is it impossible for families, charities, voluntary associations, or the private sector to accomplish the goal Is this program or project so important that it justifies taking money away from a young family Only when the answer to all three questions is "yes" should government take money away from the taxpayers who have earned it.

It's true that Ralph "had to" raise your taxes in order to pay for his spending spree these past six years. But it's not true that he "had to" increase spending 45% when population and inflation together went up only 28%. Ralph obviously hasn't been asking the three questions in the paragraph above. Instead, he chose to break his promise to you, and raise your taxes.