Liberal $1B learning passport program

[capricorn]

Michael Ignatieff says a Liberal government would spend $1 billion a year on a new student aid program to encourage high schoolers to pursue post-secondary education.

The Liberal leader's proposed "learning passport" would provide tax-free grants of $4,000 — or $1,000 a year for four years — for students across Canada to attend college or university.

Students from low-income families would qualify for as much as $6,500 over four years, or up to $1,500 a year.

The money would be provided through existing registered education savings plans, or RESPs, but families would not be required to make contributions.

The funds would be held until the student decides to go to school.

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Senior Liberal officials say the program would be financed in part by increasing the business tax rate to 18 per cent, up from the current rate of 16.5 per cent.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/liberals-promise-1-billion-a-year-in-student-aid--118834939.html

Raising corporate tax rates is a sure way to stifle business growth and halt job growth. Where will all the post-secondary graduates find jobs? Will the learning passport drive graduates to seek employment abroad? On the bright side, we'd stand to have a crop of highly educated welfare recipients.

The Liberal march left is stepping up.

[Bonam]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/liberals-promise-1-billion-a-year-in-student-aid--118834939.html

Raising corporate tax rates is a sure way to stifle business growth and halt job growth. Where will all the post-secondary graduates find jobs? Will the learning passport drive graduates to seek employment abroad? On the bright side, we'd stand to have a crop of highly educated welfare recipients.

The Liberal march left is stepping up.

Maybe they will hire someone with a degree in grade 3 math to fix their errors:

Students from low-income families would qualify for as much as $6,500 over four years, or up to $1,500 a year.

1500 x 4 does not equal 6500.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Bonam

[August1991]

Education is a provincial jurisdiction. How do they define "low-income families"?

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This is just more "tax-and-spend". The government will give you money if you do what the government wants you to do. Anyway, the lack of funding is arguably not the major problem with Canada's education system.

[guyser]

Its better than spending a billion for jails.

[Black Dog]

Raising corporate tax rates is a sure way to stifle business growth and halt job growth. Where will all the post-secondary graduates find jobs? Will the learning passport drive graduates to seek employment abroad? On the bright side, we'd stand to have a crop of highly educated welfare recipients.

The Liberal march left is stepping up.

Liberals would pay for the $1-billion a year program by rolling back planned cuts to corporate taxes.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Black Dog

[blueblood]

Its better than spending a billion for jails.

Stop the madness!!

1) Jails are currently overcrowded. Do you propose sending criminals back on the street to reoffend? Yes its expensive, cleaning up after bozos typically is.

2) I know easterners and city folk love rehabilitation programs. Those are fine and dandy if someone truly wants to be rehabilitated and it works that way. However you can't force someone into an expensive rehabilitation program and expect them to be magically cured.

3) The crime rate has fallen, also the average age of people keeps rising. Could it be that some people get too old to commit crimes? The population of canada howevere keeps rising so even if the rate is falling, there is still a large amount of criminals to deal with. Like it or not the jails are necessary. If there was a way to monetize prison labor, then it wouldn't be an issue, however amnesty international would have a coniption fit, so here we are with the gong show we have. The best we can do is implement sound economic policies to whittle away at the unemployment numbers. Idle hands are the devil's playground. However criminals have to be seperated from society.

[capricorn]

Maybe they will hire someone with a degree in grade 3 math to fix their errors:

1500 x 4 does not equal 6500.

The extra $500.00 is to be returned to the Liberals via a donation to the party of $125.00 over 4 years.

[ToadBrother]

Education is a provincial jurisdiction. How do they define "low-income families"?

Likely the same way the CCRA does.

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This is just more "tax-and-spend". The government will give you money if you do what the government wants you to do. Anyway, the lack of funding is arguably not the major problem with Canada's education system.

What pisses me off is that the Liberals didn't do it years ago. My oldest kid graduated last year and my youngest is graduating this year. Don't do me no good.

[wyly]

three kids in post secondary and one more to come guess which party just captured 5 votes in wyly's household :D ...and in many other households across the country the youth vote that never votes will come out in droves... mobilizing the youth vote is what put Naheed Nenshi into office in calgary, a masterstroke by the liberal campaign team the day after the harper regime makes a election promise that may or may not be kept four five or more years from now...

[wyly]

Likely the same way the CCRA does.

What pisses me off is that the Liberals didn't do it years ago. My oldest kid graduated last year and my youngest is graduating this year. Don't do me no good.

but ignatief wasn't leading the liberal party years ago, he's an academic that values education, vs harper and his supporters who despise the educated as the "elite"...education is what drives a country forward a faltering education system in the usa is hurting it's economy as other countries leave them behind, education is key to compete in a global market...

[Shakeyhands]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/liberals-promise-1-billion-a-year-in-student-aid--118834939.html

Raising corporate tax rates is a sure way to stifle business growth and halt job growth. Where will all the post-secondary graduates find jobs? Will the learning passport drive graduates to seek employment abroad? On the bright side, we'd stand to have a crop of highly educated welfare recipients.

If there was any proof that these cuts do the least bit of good I could see your argument. As soon as those companies agree to stop off shoring jobs THEN we can talk about the 1.5%. e have a very competitive tax rate anyway as it stands, with a very educated and healthy population.

[blueblood]

If there was any proof that these cuts do the least bit of good I could see your argument. As soon as those companies agree to stop off shoring jobs THEN we can talk about the 1.5%. e have a very competitive tax rate anyway as it stands, with a very educated and healthy population.

Well if factory workers worked for a realistic wage then offshoring wouldn't be an issue. The oil patch and mines are hiring however.

[Shakeyhands]

Well if factory workers worked for a realistic wage then offshoring wouldn't be an issue. The oil patch and mines are hiring however.

I think manufacturing is dead in this country, no way to compete with people who will accept a pittance from the corporations as wages.

hat we need to focus on is the services and proffesional industries. The iberal plan works towards that.

[wyly]

If there was any proof that these cuts do the least bit of good I could see your argument. As soon as those companies agree to stop off shoring jobs THEN we can talk about the 1.5%. e have a very competitive tax rate anyway as it stands, with a very educated and healthy population.

nearly a million (voting)post secondary students in canada, another 1-2 million secondary students factor in their parents and a promise to pay nearly a quarter of yearly tuition fees...this is real vote motivator...

[wyly]

Well if factory workers worked for a realistic wage then offshoring wouldn't be an issue. The oil patch and mines are hiring however.

but you can't ignore cost of living, where I live in calgary is a very expensive city to live in, employees need to be well paid or they can't live here, it's a catch 22 situation...

[blueblood]

three kids in post secondary and one more to come guess which party just captured 5 votes in wyly's household :D ...and in many other households across the country the youth vote that never votes will come out in droves... mobilizing the youth vote is what put Naheed Nenshi into office in calgary, a masterstroke by the liberal campaign team the day after the harper regime makes a election promise that may or may not be kept four five or more years from now...

Oh joy, let's plug up the universities and have worthless degrees at the end of it. That's a recipe for education inflation. So if a kid wants to have a good job working for someone, how long does that kid have to stay in school, 8 yrs? Its about 15000 per year for school+living according to uni students in town. By plugging the schools with students, a kid is going to be swamped with debt or take a bath financially in order to get a degree(s) that get competitive jobs.

Hydraboss says it best "what's the difference between a pizza and a liberal arts degree? A pizza can feed a family of four"

How much can be learned on the job? University is not the be all end all as ignatieff likes to believe.

At the end of the day its the person with the most natural intelligence that gets further ahead.

[blueblood]

but you can't ignore cost of living, where I live in calgary is a very expensive city to live in, employees need to be well paid or they can't live here, it's a catch 22 situation...

And that's why therE isn't much for manufacturing in calgary

Or the cost of living goes down as well.

I.E. The cost of a cell phone plan in india vs. A cell phone plan in canada.

[wyly]

Oh joy, let's plug up the universities and have worthless degrees at the end of it. That's a recipe for education inflation. So if a kid wants to have a good job working for someone, how long does that kid have to stay in school, 8 yrs? Its about 15000 per year for school+living according to uni students in town. By plugging the schools with students, a kid is going to be swamped with debt or take a bath financially in order to get a degree(s) that get competitive jobs.

ya here we go with the "elitist" snobbery in reverse...

Hydraboss says it best "what's the difference between a pizza and a liberal arts degree? A pizza can feed a family of four"

despite centuries of evidence to the contrary there are still the under educated who still believe stupider is better....

How much can be learned on the job? University is not the be all end all as ignatieff likes to believe.

At the end of the day its the person with the most natural intelligence that gets further ahead.

at the end of the day it's the university graduate that hires the under educated...at the end of the day it's the under educated that is the first to be laid off... Edited March 29, 2011 by wyly

[capricorn]

Oh joy, let's plug up the universities and have worthless degrees at the end of it.

Speaking of universities, this guaranteed cash flow in the hands of students would tempt universities to raise tuition fees and related costs.

[wyly]

And that's why therE isn't much for manufacturing in calgary

which is is totally irrelevant, wages are based on cost of living in the area of employment...

[guyser]

Stop the madness!!

No kidding. We dont need the jails to be built

1) Jails are currently overcrowded. Do you propose sending criminals back on the street to reoffend? Yes its expensive, cleaning up after bozos typically is.

Why not? Some of them are locked up for the scarcest of reasons. Smoked a joint or had an ounce on you? Ok, you get out of here.Probably woundn t take much to frre up some space.

2) I know easterners and city folk love rehabilitation programs. Those are fine and dandy if someone truly wants to be rehabilitated and it works that way. However you can't force someone into an expensive rehabilitation program and expect them to be magically cured.

then 'they' dont look so good at the Parole hearing. BAck in pinstripes for you!'

3) . Idle hands are the devil's playground. However criminals have to be seperated from society.

Thats why we invented Curling....and why prairie folk play it all winter.

Edited March 29, 2011 by guyser

[Michael Hardner]

Hmmmm... I don't think the programme costs a lot, but I think they have programmes like this in place already. At least they used to - maybe Paul Martin cut them.

In the end, I don't think it's going to provide a ton of help or influence a lot of people who are considering school. Maybe they could cut out the middle class part of it and just focus at smart students who are underprivileged or at risk ?

Also, there are a lot of applied studies programs that will do more for employment than university degrees. Does this apply to trade schools or college programmes ?

I don't see this as being an earth-shaking policy proposal in any case.

[Black Dog]

Oh joy, let's plug up the universities and have worthless degrees at the end of it. That's a recipe for education inflation. So if a kid wants to have a good job working for someone, how long does that kid have to stay in school, 8 yrs? Its about 15000 per year for school+living according to uni students in town. By plugging the schools with students, a kid is going to be swamped with debt or take a bath financially in order to get a degree(s) that get competitive jobs.

I'd like to live in a society where education is valued as an end unto itself and not viewed merely as a path to a job.

How much can be learned on the job? University is not the be all end all as ignatieff likes to believe.

Who ever said it was?

At the end of the day its the person with the most natural intelligence that gets further ahead.

Aw! That's so cute.

[Battletoads]

Well if factory workers worked for a realistic wage then offshoring wouldn't be an issue. The oil patch and mines are hiring however.

Yeah, they ought to work for a buck or two a day with no benefits!

[bloodyminded]

At the end of the day its the person with the most natural intelligence that gets further ahead.

Such pretty myths are comforting, no doubt.