[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

How does it work in countries that do have free university if the person flunks out or quits? Do they have to pay it back?

I would favour a system that issues loans that are forgivable on a percent based on how in demand the specialty is and how well they actually do in it.

Hmmm, that's an interesting idea!
In most countries that I'm aware of, they do not have to pay it back if they flunk out or quit. Tuition is simply free. You still have to pay to live, accept not working as much, and pay for books and that sort of thing, so a student isn't without "loss" as it were if they quit. They still would've lost quite a bit of money for nothing.

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Maybe just 2-free years of post secondary, so it covers those in trades and subsidizes those in other (vital) fields?

This might be an excellent version of the idea, much like the idea above. Having a system that allows free education for trades and less of a burden for those that want to become doctors or nurses or teachers would be beneficial. Those that want other less essential degrees can pay for the last two years themselves.

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

I have a few problems with free daycare and free university.



If you assume that everyone pays into a pot (taxes) then single income families who chose to have one parent stay home are now paying higher taxes so that another family can put their kid in daycare and have both parents work. I did not consider single parents because I think there are better ways to help them out than to provide everyone with free daycare.



Following the same assumption, a lot of jobs do not require a university education. If you raise taxes to provide free education then you are raising taxes on those without university education, who typically make less money, to provide a benefit to those who will receive a university education and typically make more money.



In both cases, you have a system that benefits those with more money at the expense of those with less money.



For tuition costs, I would much rather see increased financial aid in the form of loans. Possibly linked to your tax rate. Maybe tuition is free, but you have to pay a higher tax rate for ten years.



As for free daycare, I would much rather see an increase in baby bonuses or some other payment that the parents can spend as they see fit.



On the tax front, I am not against higher taxes outright, but I think I would rather see the money go to the lower levels of government. I like the idea of a hike to the HST to provide money for municipalities.

I agree with most everything above. A large problem with free education can be a drop in the quality of that education. Canada has excellent universities, so something closer to forgivable loans or subsidies based on profession might be a lot better.

You could go any way with the free day care personally. It certainly benefits many (but not all). The only problem I have with something like payment that parents can use at discretion is that it can often be misused. Some combination of free daycare and credit to those who stay home (both dependent on household income perhaps?) might benefit more people.

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Pretty much what GP Matt said.

Plus, a new tax at a rate of 20-25% is completely asinine, particularly given the reasoning given is basically "because government knows how to spend my money better than I do". As currently worded, Chill, your proposal sees me pay an incredible amount of money for absolutely no benefit.

Certainly neither the current provincial government or national government have shown that they should be trusted with that high of a tax increase, but I still think it has value as a realistic concept.

Personally, I think (in Alberta specifically) the tax rate is criminally low. Even a PST of 5% would be valuable. The amount of cuts that happen in this province of social programs is concerning considering the wealth we have. Part of that is mismanaging the money we have. Another smaller part is the lack of proper taxation I think.