Daryl Scase Letter to David Coutts

Well said, Daryl! I hope David is listening.

##################

September 26, 2007

Mr. David Coutts MLA
Box 69
2115 2nd Avenue
Fort Macleod, Alberta
TOL OZO

Dear Sir:

Our accounting practice, between partners and employees numbers 20 people, and I am concerned. Having been in business for 27 years in Alberta, I have seen the high interest rates, NEP, and the swan dives of our economy for a myriad of reasons. Our practice, when I started it, was rural and agriculture was our principal client base. However, that has changed and we also are situated with an office in the city of Calgary. One of my concerns, when we opened an office in Calgary, was that the economy was so tied to the "patch" and because of this I have had "insecurities". I was in British Columbia as an accounting student 30 years ago, and was in the middle of similar circumstance where the provincial government essentially crushed a community with its policy.

I have talked to one of my oilpatch sons and we are contemplating having a town hall meeting where some group who is representative of the oil industry can speak to the locals and present the facts. My hope is that those facts would include what the patch puts into the community in terms of dollars and jobs, rather than, or in addition to what the patch takes out. People essentially want to hear "what are you doing for me today". The patch is somewhat mystical to most of us, and naturally because of that, rumor abounds. That needs to be removed.

Governments do not create jobs. The private sector does. Evidence to support this is, remove the private sector, remove taxes. Ergo no funding for government jobs.

Respectively yours

Darryl Scase