Twenty-three year old Kristi Cunningham is ready to take on a whole new Saskatchewan – one that’s completely different than the Saskatchewan her parents grew up in.

You see, when Kristi was a youngster, her parents had to pay a 7 per cent provincial sales tax on her Barbies, her school supplies and the ice cream she received on special occasions.

Now when Kristi goes to buy university supplies, clothes and ice cream, she only has to pay 5 per cent on those goods.

Even better, she can now earn over $15,000 a year before paying provincial income taxes. That means Kristi can work part-time and cover the cost of her tuition, a modest car and other incidentals without having to worry about the provincial taxman trying to take her money.  

Without changes by the Saskatchewan government, she would have started to pay tax after her income hit $10,000 or so and racked up more student debt.

But you know who benefits the most? Kristi’s parents.

After all, the economy is doing much better than a decade ago so when Kristi graduates, she has more job opportunities right in Saskatchewan.

Her parents won’t have to dial 403 or 416 to reach her on the phone. Fortunately, Kristi won’t have to dial those numbers before calling her friends either. Calgary, Toronto and other cities that have traditionally poached young Saskatchewanians are having a much harder time.

The average family in Saskatchewan is doing much better than a decade years ago.

A lot of credit goes to the Brad Wall government for reducing taxes, paying off debt and encouraging investment in the province. Hands down, the Wall team is running one of the best governments in the country right now.

However, the former NDP government contributed to the “Saskaboom” as well – largely by bringing in more competitive rates that companies are charged when they pull resources like potash and oil out of the ground. Reducing the sales tax was a nice touch too!

Things are going well, but there’s more work to do.

Alberta is still beating Sask taxpayers when it comes to income taxes, school taxes, debt levels and they don’t have a sales tax at all.

The Wall government has its sights set on reducing the business tax, which is good, but it should keep reducing the small business tax too. It also needs to reduce personal income tax rates and try and chip away at school taxes to close the gap with Alberta.

Fortunately, there is still plenty of areas where spending could be reduced.

First, the Wall government should address out of control pension costs for government employees. Taxpayers like Kristi’s father, who have no workplace pension plan, shouldn’t have to keep bailing out government employee plans that have promised too much.

Provincial MLAs have a less costly type of pension plan than many government employees, so they have the grounds to start putting newly hired government employees in more modest plans.

Premier Wall should also push health regions, universities, school boards and other provincially-funded bodies to weed out waste. For example, no one would expect Saskatoon hospitals to make a fortune by running cafeterias, but they shouldn’t be losing $600,000 per year either. And is it really necessary for Prairie Valley School Division officials to spend $1,200 per office chair?

The government should also keep cutting subsidies for businesses and leave those dollars in taxpayers’ pockets instead.

Compared to a decade ago, Saskatchewan is a better place for young people like Kristi, but the Wall government must keep pushing to make it even better.