Should EI be for EI only?

[Topaz]

www.cnews.canoe.ca Layton is reporting that the present government has taken 58 Billion out of the EI and used it to pay down the debt, should they be doing that?? IF there so much money there then why not reduced EI premiums?? They have boosted about paying down the debt , well any government can do it if they take it from another source!

[MontyBurns]

At least the money didnt get wasted on social programs.

[madmax]

At least the money didnt get wasted on social programs.

on social programs like... EI.

[madmax]

www.cnews.canoe.ca Layton is reporting that the present government has taken 58 Billion out of the EI and used it to pay down the debt, should they be doing that?? IF there so much money there then why not reduced EI premiums?? They have boosted about paying down the debt , well any government can do it if they take it from another source!

EI has been around for a long time. THere is a separate deduction for it. Yet it is used as general revenue. The previous government did the same as all before them IIRC. EI premiums should be reduced, and since something like 30% of the laid off/unemployed are eligible to claim, it is clear that revenue is going to exceed expenditures.

[Wilber]

Some people actually believe a carbon tax will be revenue neutral to.

[oreodontist]

It's beyond the rational. It's almost impossible for Albertans to get E.I. because of the high demand for labour. E.I. is just another transfer of wealth from have provinces to mostly Quebec.

E.I. has not been an unemployment insurance for the last 40 years...it's a fund less concerned every year with being a safety net for those unemployed and more and more bucket of money to fund regional programs. Fortunately greater numbers of young people, even many Francophones, are now going to Alberta and elsewhere where the opportunities are.

[MontyBurns]

on social programs like... EI.

EI isnt really necessary anymore. With all the jobs available in Alberta and the shortage of labour there is no reason for Canadians to be collecting EI. That is why it is so overfunded. At least by paying down the debt everyone benefits instead of people abusing the program.

[sharkman]

www.cnews.canoe.ca Layton is reporting that the present government has taken 58 Billion out of the EI and used it to pay down the debt, should they be doing that?? IF there so much money there then why not reduced EI premiums?? They have boosted about paying down the debt , well any government can do it if they take it from another source!

So just what is ol' Jackie proposing, a tax cut on EI? I must admit to you I already know the answer to that one, I'm pretty sure if he had his way the money would be spent on socialistic programs in an effort to buy some votes.

However, I don't think the revenues that are collected as EI should be dumped into general revenues and the Liberals did it for over a decade. I am consoled by debt reduction though.

[Alta4ever]

So just what is ol' Jackie proposing, a tax cut on EI? I must admit to you I already know the answer to that one, I'm pretty sure if he had his way the money would be spent on socialistic programs in an effort to buy some votes.

However, I don't think the revenues that are collected as EI should be dumped into general revenues and the Liberals did it for over a decade. I am consoled by debt reduction though.

I doubt the left will agree with us. But they are predictable, although we know why the liberals are so quiet on this one.

The money went into general revenue, it was nothing but a number on a ledger there was no fund behind it. The money was used long before this government came to power. At least the CPC is doing something about it so future left wing governments can't just use the fund as a tax.

[Alta4ever]

EI isnt really necessary anymore. With all the jobs available in Alberta and the shortage of labour there is no reason for Canadians to be collecting EI. That is why it is so overfunded. At least by paying down the debt everyone benefits instead of people abusing the program.

Time for the rhetorical question.

Why was it the liberals changed the participation from optional to manditory the year after they brought it in?

[Bryan]

EI isnt really necessary anymore. With all the jobs available in Alberta and the shortage of labour there is no reason for Canadians to be collecting EI.

Moving out of province might be an option to look into in cases of long term or chronic unemployment/underemployment. But for short term job loss, EI serves a purpose. Even in a booming economy it often takes a while to find the right opportunity that you'll actually stay with rather than just bouncing around.

I'm mostly opposed to taxes always getting lumped into general revenues. I think a tax that's presented as being specifically for some purpose should be accounted separately and not be available to general revenues.

Edited May 30, 2008 by Bryan

[Alta4ever]

www.cnews.canoe.ca Layton is reporting that the present government has taken 58 Billion out of the EI and used it to pay down the debt, should they be doing that?? IF there so much money there then why not reduced EI premiums?? They have boosted about paying down the debt , well any government can do it if they take it from another source!

Sorry that source was long gone before the CPC took office, nice try though.

[Topaz]

I remember O'Connor say that the war was being paid out of the general fund and that EI went into that fund. Now, the last budget , the Cons are going to make an "EI fund" which will go to the provinces that really need it. The main problem is the government wants to past a bill that states what money comes out of the EI doesn't have to be replaced. Workers money go into that fund so it there when they need it and the gov't has made changes to the length of time you can draw from it, which in some place is very short. You should get back what you put in.

[DogOnPorch]

EI isnt really necessary anymore. With all the jobs available in Alberta and the shortage of labour there is no reason for Canadians to be collecting EI. That is why it is so overfunded. At least by paying down the debt everyone benefits instead of people abusing the program.

I still think it's needed for economic tragedies like the massive fire in Prince George the other day that burnt down one of the city's main employers plus a few other surrounding businesses due to burning fallout. Almost five hundred highly-paid people out of work. Making sure they get some $$$ immediately keeps smaller centres like Prince George from going tits-up. They buy the speed boats...etc.Pr George doesn't really want them to move to Alberta...me thinks.

I agree re: paying down the debt with surpluses, though. It's the smart thing to do in any economy including the household one.

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Public calamity is a mighty leveler.

[Alta4ever]

I remember O'Connor say that the war was being paid out of the general fund and that EI went into that fund. Now, the last budget , the Cons are going to make an "EI fund" which will go to the provinces that really need it. The main problem is the government wants to past a bill that states what money comes out of the EI doesn't have to be replaced. Workers money go into that fund so it there when they need it and the gov't has made changes to the length of time you can draw from it, which in some place is very short. You should get back what you put in.

Ei has gone into general revenue from day one. That means that it has been nothing but a number in ledger. The funds have been gine for years. Remeber all those budget surpluses spent over the last 13 years, all was in general revenue, it was all spent in one off programs, PMPM and PMJC loved those types of programs. Hell they broke the EI bank on them.

[M.Dancer]

www.cnews.canoe.ca Layton is reporting that the present government has taken 58 Billion out of the EI and used it to pay down the debt, should they be doing that??

That is one way that all canadians can benefit, another option would be to return the contributions made to those who made them.

[Wilber]

What's the big deal? We are still paying the Feds a 1.5 cent a liter "deficit reduction tax" on fuel to reduce a deficit we haven't had for over a decade? Considering Canadians consume 66 billion liters of gasoline and diesel a year, that's nearly a billion a year.

[madmax]

EI isnt really necessary anymore.

[Leafless]

Ei has gone into general revenue from day one. That means that it has been nothing but a number in ledger. The funds have been gine for years. Remeber all those budget surpluses spent over the last 13 years, all was in general revenue, it was all spent in one off programs, PMPM and PMJC loved those types of programs. Hell they broke the EI bank on them.

All that revenue that should have been in the E.I. fund and what do they do?

Make it harder than ever to qualify for E.I.

So what's going to happen, possibly in the not to distant future, when many Canadians find themselves unemployed.

Er, the funds dry folks.

PMPM and PMJC what a joke.

[Moonlight Graham]

EI isnt really necessary anymore. With all the jobs available in Alberta and the shortage of labour there is no reason for Canadians to be collecting EI. That is why it is so overfunded. At least by paying down the debt everyone benefits instead of people abusing the program.

EI is still necessary. You can't expect everyone who gets laid off from their job for a month (for which they may have gone to school for years to train for) to up and move to Alberta. And what about EI Sickness Benefits?

But anyways, they probably need to reduce the amount the worker pays into IE if there is such a surplus. And i agree that at least it was used to pay down the debt instead of some wasteful project.

[Renegade]

Why was it the liberals changed the participation from optional to manditory the year after they brought it in?

Because if it was optional it would be forced to run like an "insurance" scheme it was meant to be, instead of a taxation scheme it has become.