There are several reasons why Premier Klein should not spend $85,000 of taxpayers' money in 2005 for another province-wide televised speech. Since 1994, Premier Klein has broadcast a speech in late January or early February. The most famous speech was in 2001, when the premier promised Albertans that "the only way taxes are going in this province is down." But then he raised our taxes in 2002.

Why end this eleven-year tradition of an annual televised speech

First, Premier Klein already had a wonderful opportunity during the 2004 election to articulate a vision and policies for Alberta's future. He chose not to. Instead, the premier deliberately ran a boring campaign with little substance, in which "spend more tax dollars" was the PC-Liberal-NDP policy on almost every issue. Premier Klein has often stated that politics is about discovering a parade and then getting in front of it, leading people where they want to go. There were (and are) a lot of "parades" in Alberta that the premier could lead. For example, 79% of Albertans want a law giving them the right to initiate and vote in referendums on issues of their choice. Also, 83% of Albertans support taxpayer protection legislation, whereby proposed new taxes and tax increases would need approval from taxpayers in a referendum before going into effect. Further, most Albertans support merit pay for teachers, in contrast to the current seniority system which pays excellent teachers the same as mediocre ones. But Klein didn't want to lead these parades, or any others. Without any particular reason, he called an early election just like Jean Chretien and Paul Martin have done federally. Why spend our hard-earned tax dollars on a televised speech in 2005 when Premier Klein was unable to articulate a vision during the 2004 election

Second, if Premier Klein has a new policy to announce, he can call a news conference and be guaranteed huge radio, television and newspaper coverage. Reporters eagerly await his every word. Even without a news conference, his informal thinking-out-loud musings will easily make it to the front page of the next day's papers. The premier can communicate directly with Albertans 365 days per year, without spending $85,000 of our money on a promotional commercial.

Third, Premier Klein already controls the $15-million-per-year, 131-employee Public Affairs Bureau, which is used every day to design and to communicate the government's messages to Albertans.

Fourth, if Premier Klein's government has a bold new vision for Alberta's future, it should be articulated in the Throne Speech when the Legislative Assembly reconvenes in February. If he wants to announce new policies or legislation, here is the time and the place to do it, without additional costs to taxpayers.

Fifth, it's a waste of taxpayers' money to spend $85,000 on a speech which consists of vague generalities that nobody can disagree with. Each year we hear the same thing: the government has done a great job getting Alberta out of debt, and now we're going to spend more tax dollars on health, infrastructure and education. The rest is bland platitudes about wealth, prosperity, opportunity, and a wonderful future for our children and grandchildren.

If Premier Klein has something to say, he can call a press conference, put it in the Throne Speech, or have the Public Affairs Bureau send out a news release. Any of these methods will produce the same result: the media will gladly report on his announcement - without costing taxpayers a penny.