There aren’t many drawbacks to being Canada’s richest province, especially if you happen to be a Conservative politician in Alberta. Thanks to the strong commodity prices for oil and natural gas, our government has become accustomed to playing Santa Claus 365 days a year. It’s an act that doesn’t wear on a representative nearly as much as having to be the voice of common sense and prudence, and that might explain runaway spending in the final years of the Klein epoch in Alberta politics. When Peter Lougheed is writing op-ed pieces telling Ralph to stash some in the sock drawer for a change, you know that there’s a bit of a profligacy problem at the Legislature.

The latest sign that our Premier still wants to sign cheques and ask questions later comes with his public musings about a second round of prosperity bonuses. Remember that bit of influence peddling from before Christmas? $400 for every man, woman and child could be making an unwelcome comeback if Ralph gets his way — the good news is that he may not. He’s left the decision about a second round of handouts to the provincial caucus, and there are several senior members making discontented noises about the plan to distribute dollars at a time when infrastructure shortfalls are acute in some areas, and school boards across the province are facing staff cuts thanks to a lack of adequate grant funding from our benevolent buddies in Edmonton.

The rot at the top appears to have spread, however, and that’s even more concerning. Candidates for the Conservative leadership (read: the Premier’s office) have been lining up behind some odd initiatives, including a proposal to kill education property tax in the province.

There’s no doubt that the province could do something to help municipalities out in this regard, but to simply take support for public education off the tax roll is foolhardy. The most extreme position is that of Lyle Oberg, who would eliminate the $1.4 billion collection right away. Mark Norris, another former cabinet minster, wants a multi-year approach, but at the end of it all, doesn’t agree with Oberg that school divisions should be able to collect taxes from their local base for capital expenditures.

How will education be paid for? Well Norris doesn’t come right out and say it, but the answer is quite clear — oil revenues. Sure, we’re flush as a baby’s cheeks in boiling bathwater right now, but supplies of black gold will run low eventually, and the world price of oil is by no means guaranteed to remain at such lofty heights forever. That’s why we think that former finance minister Jim Dinning has the right idea when he discourages talk of eliminating property tax funding for education. Dinning has been in the private sector for quite some time, and has therefore become used to the idea of restraint and efficient approaches to maintain fiscal health.

The Santa suit doesn’t fit anymore — let’s hope it’s a sign of things to come if Dinning makes it to the top job in the province.