Liberal $1B learning passport program

[William Ashley]

capricorn, on 29 March 2011 - 06:12 PM, said:

Yet John Manley, former Liberal Finance Minister, said when corporate taxes were cut revenue from corporations actually increased.

What I'm thinking is that lower corporate tax cuts encourage the formation of new businesses that would also pay those corporate taxes. They would be new streams of federal revenue.

There are many variables to consider on the whole question of corporate taxes. For laymen it's almost impossible to evaluate the pros and cons.

The government could use the money to employ people or generate revenue streams just as easy at the corps. It is just a question as who has the money to do it, and who distributes it. Companies are "focused on their own business" and monopolies are not allowed - antitrust laws stop mega corps from 'superdiversifying' and it is a resource waste to go outside your area of expertise YOU ARE WRONG. There is only so much room in a world of fixed markets and fixed demand. YOU ARE WRONG. IT IS WHAT THEY BUY, that is why inflation is important to limit hoarding of wealth, and property taxes to limit land holdings to "beneficial&meaning full best use" while more or less masses of wealth turn into funds to preserve rarities and facilitate luxury industries. Capital creation is required to stimulate productivity and keep a fluid economy otherwise things stagnate, and you end up with recessions and depressions. There is a threshold of allowable centralization of wealth before it negatively impacts a society. You either need to tax or dilute the measures of wealth otherwise its concentration limits demand based on exchange for wealth and benefit is striving, as well as varied demand due to reduced sources of impulse for various products - since there are reduced customers and thus reduced quality demands to suit only those customers needs. As soon as you only enable the well to do, the stagnation of the have nots, becomes regressive, if the trend is inclining to more have nots then a larger portion of society is not benefited - thus social decay occurs.

One of my goals is to reduce federal income taxes to 0% and implement a "tax free zone in the national capital region by creating A block around parliament as "a tax free national capital district" or making an artificial Island on the ottawa river.

That would house a CITIZENS bank of canada connected with the national bank. --- Then the federal government would raise money by making artificial island condos that were 100% tax free zones. AND by selling citizenship at about 30k a pop, as well as royalties and licensing, and starting up specific crown corps to aquire IP and patents (through national research councils) - funding buisness startups (angel investments), and other inventive economic generators. NOt to meantion a RIGHT TO WORK that would focus on reducing federal aquisitions costs by having right to work programs make government products. - and facilitate federal works programs as well as resource extraction and "ROI" projects competeing with the private market in essential goods and "export markets". This Right to Work (RTW) would also take away some contraversy in government program winners, since it would all be done through the RTW - to ERADICATE UNEMPLOYMENT OF THE WILLING.

Likewise a law would be pressed to turn wolfe island into a tax free zone, as well as a number of other points in Canada that was in each province - the provinces would get a portion of proceeds of operations of the "federal tax free zones" income generating activities, such as toll entrance charges. Example 2$ to enter the tax free zone that might have completely tax free shopping etc.. or residences that are constructed in the areas. Wolf Island is Special that it would be turned into a WORLD TRADE market, with a boom for corporate offices (like other areas)

US CITIZENS would get teir two canadian citizienship (includes residency) for only $20,000 (this can be converted into teir one citizenship after a couple years of continous residence and passing upgraded citizenship testing) There would be a quota "and auction" for tier two citizenship. Condos would be available in the tax free zones and these would be auctioned as they were available. Point Alexandra could be a staging point.

Another option would be a giant cloud city --- by a giant buckminster fullerine structure.

"Geodesic spheres larger than half-a-mile in diameter can be floated in the air, like clouds."

Edited March 30, 2011 by William Ashley

[Visionseeker]

Everyone should vote selfishly. I haven't the slightest idea why you wouldn't.

The elderly do, and will. No measure of logic will prevent them from fiscally smothering their grand-children. My father-in-law whines constantly about how his OAS is clawed-back because of his investment returns. I tell him to shut the fuck up or I'll make sure he's cremated (he don't like that idea) and, if he doesn't piss me off too much, I'll wait until he's dead before striking the match.

[bloodyminded]

You prefer incarceration at a loss? I think it's disgraceful that we keep thousands of healthy people sitting around on their arses instead of working them to make back the money we spend keeping them in jail. Start up some factories and make work mandatory. No work, you get the most banal of food, no computer, no books, no nothing.

If we offer incentives for business to use prisoners for profit (which is slave labour, by the way), then more people will be incarcerated for the sake of profit.

This is precisely the argument used by free market advocates in every other debate you will ever have on any business venture, without exception.

So of course it applies here as well.

[guyser]

that's why us farm boys invented snowmobiles

You're a relative of Armand Bombardier , the french Canadian business man?

[blueblood]

You're a relative of Armand Bombardier , the french Canadian business man?

He was a farmboy when he made his prototype as a teenager.

[Hobble]

I am a student but not very educated in politics or economics, but would this theoretically be like a scholarship, reducing your tuition by the $1000-1500 as long as you apply for it?!?

[punked]

I am a student but not very educated in politics or economics, but would this theoretically be like a scholarship, reducing your tuition by the $1000-1500 as long as you apply for it?!?

According the globe you as a present student would lose your tax credit but because the avenue for this is RESPs and the Liberals will grant to high school students to set up a RESP you would be shit out of luck. From the globe article as near as I can tell you lose your 500 dollar tax credit but will gain nothing because you are in university now. That seems like the fine print.

[nicky10013]

According the globe you as a present student would lose your tax credit but because the avenue for this is RESPs and the Liberals will grant to high school students to set up a RESP you would be shit out of luck. From the globe article as near as I can tell you lose your 500 dollar tax credit but will gain nothing because you are in university now. That seems like the fine print.

Actually, that globe article said the exact opposite. It's sad when you have to repeat Tory talking points just to spite the Liberals. That original notion came from the Tory war room and was quickly repudiated by the G&M.

[punked]

Actually, that globe article said the exact opposite. It's sad when you have to repeat Tory talking points just to spite the Liberals. That original notion came from the Tory war room and was quickly repudiated by the G&M.

I don't know maybe the article wasn't clear. Seems like their a lot of problems and this plan wasn't really thought out. BTW when they cut that 500 dollar text book tax credit they will really only be giving students 500 bucks.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/federal-election/national/liberals-1-billion-learning-passport-isnt-a-ticket-to-more-cash-for-students-118869234.html

It seems like the promise wasn't costed and Liberals didn't do their homework though.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-liberals-learning-passport-lofty-premise-but-will-it-fly/article1962500/

[wyly]

only $500 over 4 years $2000, that's $2000 more than the harper regime is offering, wanna bet those traditionally apathetic student vote will come out in large numbers now that the liberals have their attention, I know three who have already decided to vote liberal when they had no intention of voting before...

[capricorn]

I'm listening to Ignatieff speak to students in Sudbury about the learning passport. He said that the money to students would also go to Canadians studying abroad. That's fine. But we have a great many dual citizens living abroad. A question I have for Ignatieff. Would the children of dual citizens who also have dual citizenship living abroad qualify for these $4,000. grants?

[punked]

I'm listening to Ignatieff speak to students in Sudbury about the learning passport. He said that the money to students would also go to Canadians studying abroad. That's fine. But we have a great many dual citizens living abroad. A question I have for Ignatieff. Would the children of dual citizens who also have dual citizenship living abroad qualify for these $4,000. grants?

The answer is the Liberals don't actually have to think about these facts because they aren't going to do it. It is the same reason why they didn't have an answer when someone asked them about CEGEP. It is just them trying to buy votes like in 1993 with their childcare that never happened.

[Sailor]

according to a cbc report today Canada is short 17K workers with technical skills,so how can education ever be a bad thing if it fills shortage...

Education can be a bad thing indeed if it's obtained through student loans.

Ask any undergrad what they're going through paying them back.

[M.Dancer]

.

Ask any undergrad what they're going through paying them back.

Why would an Undergrad being paying them back? Unless things have changed drastically since i was a student, interest didn't start accumulating till after you finished school.

[capricorn]

The kind of workers we're short of are not the ones being educated at universities.

Scotty, here is an article that delves into your observation about the link between what is taught in our learning institutions and the real needs of our economy.

The “learning passport” plan is a classic case of politically motivated spending that focuses on the symptom, not the problem. In fact, this plan would make the problem worse by subsidizing tuitions for areas of expertise that our economy doesn't need, exacerbating the number of underemployed, or unemployed, “educated” Canadians.

More than twice as many students are being accepted into programs with poor job prospects (such as visual and performing arts, humanities, social work) than in the sciences and health care. An OECD report last year highlighted the failure of Canadian universities to respond to the needs of our economy. It compared graduates in 11 industrialized countries as to their ability to obtain employment that actually used their university training. Canada ranked second worst (ahead of only Spain), with 38 per cent of university graduates aged 25 to 29 “working at low skill levels,” the report found.

As the old joke goes: The engineering graduate asks, “How does it work?” The science graduate asks, “Why does it work?” The accounting graduate asks, “How much will it cost?” The arts graduate asks, “Do you want fries with that?”

That a liberal arts education is a personally enhancing experience is not in dispute. But taxpayer financed tuition subsidies should focus on turning out graduates in fields that will enhance our country's future prosperity.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/a-passport-to-learning-but-not-to-the-job-market/article1997146/

Other posters have raised issues in the same vein as the author. It speaks to the knowledge and intuitiveness of many posters here.

[bloodyminded]

Why would an Undergrad being paying them back? Unless things have changed drastically since i was a student, interest didn't start accumulating till after you finished school.

Six months after, I had thought.

[cybercoma]

Damn arts students. You wouldn't want institutions turning out things like Historians, teachers, writers, economists and social policy analysts. Better off without them. And let's not even get into the fact that the vast majority of law students come from the arts, which accounts for most politicians.