What Does It Mean to Be Conservative?

[Canuck E Stan]

They expand in the arts and humanities because the funding they receive is sufficient for big classes and cheap instructors in these disciplines. They are not expanding in engineering, science, and technology because these programs require more facilities, equipment, and more expensive instructors (since they have to compete with other employers in these areas of high demand). Canada is falling relative to other developed nations in most areas of education but at the highest rate precisely in those areas, which are the ones that matter the most. It's not a pretty situation and will come back to bite us.

Your making this up as you write,right? Show me the links about these "facts"

[geoffrey]

1) Most students don't have $20K/yr sitting around for education. By its nature, education must come first and earnings come second.

Same with drilling an oil rig, people don't usually have trouble finding some cash to do that. Banks are going to lend the cash if they are reasonable sure your going to pay it back. With some protections on bankruptcy (like you've stated), I'm sure banks would go for it. Why not?

2) Increasing the cost of education means that students must earn more later to pay for it. In other countries where education is free or nearly free, employers don't have to pay that premium+interest. Lower salaries are a huge incentive for employers to set up shop in jurisdictions that offer them. You have to remember that we don't have the luxury of a closed economy - we have to compete globally and on an increasing scale and in more areas.

So the plumber ends up subsidizing the salaries of the multinational?

[Saturn]

Your making this up as you write,right? Show me the links about these "facts"

No, unlike yourself I don't make things up. What, you don't know how to use a search engine?

Here's something from someone you probably trust:

Remarks by T.J. (Tim) Hearn, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Imperial Oil Limited

Tonight is a time to honour the achievements of these outstanding individuals. It's also a time to reflect on the critical importance of a strong education system to our country.

This evening I’d like to make the case that:

* first, investing in a high quality education system for our young people is one of the most important investments we can make for the future of Canada, and

* second, one of our best opportunities to make these investments is through organizations like the Learning Partnership.

Education is critical to Canada's future

But before I get to these topics, let me first say what I believe education means to our economy and our competitive place in the world.

In the past, it used to be that a country enjoyed a favoured position in the world if it had plentiful natural resources or access to technology or readily available investment capital. Those ingredients are still important. But today there's growing belief and evidence that the only lasting competitive advantage in our global economy lies in creating superior abilities in our workforce.

The American economist Lester Thurow once suggested that "in the 21st century natural resources will be irrelevant. Capital will move around the world. Technology will move around the world. The only strategic asset is the skills of the workforce."

Now, you won't catch me saying that natural resources are irrelevant. Far from it!

But when Thurow talks about the value of education, he's clearly on the right track. Certainly, in my view, the skills of our workforce are our country's most strategic asset.

My deepest belief at Imperial is that our real competitive advantage comes from the skilled and innovative people in every part of our business. Without talented and capable employees, we simply would not be as effective in helping to meet the energy needs of Canadians.

In a sense, we are a microcosm of the world around us. Just as our company's success depends on knowledgeable, ingenious and capable individuals, so does our country's success.

During the international part of my career, I've seen first-hand how capable Canadians are in comparison to their peers from other countries. We have an exceptional talent for innovation and technology. And we have some of the richest natural resources in the world. This solid combination of brains, innovation and resources should provide Canada with a natural advantage in the global marketplace.

So, it’s really up to us whether we can fully develop this advantage to our collective benefit. This then has to begin with the education of our young people.

We have been blessed with a good public education system. Canadian students appear in the top part of surveys of OECD countries. Our well-educated workforce has contributed to our prosperity and conditions that make Canada an attractive place to live.

But today's and yesterday's accomplishments provide no guarantee of tomorrow's success. In a world that is continuously becoming more competitive, we need to keep an eye on what's happening in the rest of the world. Others are catching up, or in some cases, passing us.

These other countries also believe that the effectiveness of their human resources dictates how well their country does on the world stage. They understand that education is critical to preparing their young people for a changing global economy. They recognize the urgent need to develop a technologically capable workforce for today's knowledge-intensive work environment. Many of these countries have made education in math, science and engineering a key strategic priority.

Let me share some numbers for your consideration.

In Canada, about six percent of undergraduates earn engineering degrees. Contrast this with Japan, Germany, Korea and France, where engineers can be one-fifth of all graduates, and with China where about 45 percent of all baccalaureates are in engineering.

And here’s another statistic: In Canada, science and engineering degrees make up about 20 percent of all new degrees, well below the OECD average. Compare that with Korea where science and engineering degrees are double this percentage.

The implications are clear. If we are to compete in today's technological world, we need to keep pace with these countries — or risk falling behind. We need to produce more of our own math, science and engineering graduates. And we need to reach out to students at an early age to develop their interest in these subjects.

[Saturn]

Same with drilling an oil rig, people don't usually have trouble finding some cash to do that. Banks are going to lend the cash if they are reasonable sure your going to pay it back. With some protections on bankruptcy (like you've stated), I'm sure banks would go for it. Why not?

Because they don't like to lend money when there is a more than minimal risk that they won't get it back. Only 80% of students graduate after all and it's not so cheap to chase people around for small loans. They want collateral and they want guarantees.

So the plumber ends up subsidizing the salaries of the multinational?

Effectively, yes. And the multinational employee can afford the plumber's services. In an economy everyone ends up "subsidizing" everyone else. It's not us against them, we are all part of it and we are all dependent on each other. What's important is to be able to find the optimal combination of post-secondary education, trades and lower-skill jobs to maximize productivity and efficiency. And economy with too many plumbers and too few engineers is not as efficient as it can be.