One of the things I have heard a lot of since moving back to Saskatchewan is that we are not a have province and that other provinces are better than us. Even in Saskatchewan Real Estate, before the absolute house pricing peak we had in the spring of 2008, I heard of people waiting for the market to crash and waiting for the prices to drop by 50% and come back to the pre-boom Saskatchewan house prices. I tried to educate people about our market and our province and our economy, but the fact of the matter is some people just like the doom and gloom and it makes them feel better if they waited to buy a home in Saskatoon and have now found that they cannot get started in the market. Many people have convinced themselves that, if they wait long enough to buy a house in Saskatoon, they will get a 50% discount. They tend to forget that our province has come leaps and bounds and is recognized world wide for our strength in commodities.
I have a hard time understanding how an entire province can be brainwashed to believe that we are not as good as other provinces in our country when the facts are there and the proof is evident. As John Gormley told his audience on October 21, 2008, maybe this is because when things were good, it was always keep your expectations low under the NDP. As he says, the prevailing psychology is that this is all going to end soon. We true Saskatchewanians, even though most of us havent lived through a depression or the dirty thirties, still have heard of gopher stew. This mentality has bred a deep cautiousness in our bones, which may not be a bad thing.
The Premier knows it, so his tax cuts and expenditures come with an insurance plan: nearly $2 Billion for the Growth and Financial Security Fund, promising to keep the government in the black should commodities go further down.
The tax cuts that are going to be in place are calculated to target lower income earners.
Having earned the have status in 2006, Saskatchewan has done some things right such as overturning the 16 year NDP reign for a more business friendly Saskatchewan Party. Workers are finally moving in from other provinces and countries instead of moving out. We still have a ways to go to matching Albertas lower flat tax, property tax, and lack of provincial sales tax, but we are gaining quickly.
Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.