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Rachel Notley doesn’t set the price of oil

The provincial government is balking at responsibility over problems in Alberta's economy...then who's responsibility is it?

Are you a Facebook fanatic? If you are, no doubt you’ve seen the meme circulating of famed superhero Batman sticking up for Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. In the meme, Batman strikes his sidekick Robin for being unfairly critical of Notley and yells, “Rachel Notley doesn’t set the price of oil!”

Apparently, this is some sort of “get out of jail free” card that social media people use to defend Alberta’s leader amidst what some are calling the worst economic situation since the early 80’s. The strategy used over the summer was “Everything is the Progressive Conservative’s fault.” There’s only so long NDP spin doctors can rely on that one though.

All you readers out there struggling with your bills, mortgage payments, employment problems, cost of living hikes, new taxes and other issues, may think you have it bad. But that’s nothing compared to Notley’s problems. With a budget deficit thick enough to choke a wooly mammoth and crude oil at a low that apparently won’t recover for years, no doubt there are plenty sitting around a table in Edmonton wringing their hands and muttering, “What are we to do? This looks bad.” Well, sharing clever memes on Facebook giving the impression there’s “nothing the premier can do about it” is one approach.

Because Rachel Notley doesn’t set oil prices…does that mean critics should leave poor, victimized Rachel alone?

Well, let’s look at it another way. Say, for example, you rent an apartment. It snows. It snows a lot. The building manager, newly hired, can see it’s snowing. The snow collapses the roof. You’re sitting on the sofa covered in snow. The building manager leans into the living room and says, “The building manager doesn’t make it snow.”

How can you argue with that logic?