Education!

First off, fixing Post-Secondary Education! The first assumption we make is that PSE is not a right, but a priviledge. I'd argue that basic Grade school education, so that you can generally function in society at all levels, is a right. However, not going to University doesn't doom you to eternal damnation, options such as Community Colleges, Trade Schools, and Art Schools exist. So we knock out universal PSE with that, as it demeans the entire point of getting a university degree. A degree is an investment for the future, made with the assumption that you will make more money later on with it than without it. As well, tuition has to be enough so that the university can support itself and provide a quality education without relying too heavily on government subsidies, which creates an increased tax burden.

The next assumption is that tuition should be fair and affordable, not too expensive so as to cripple students in the next life with loans, but not cheap enough to demean the entire point of investing in PSE. Two principles for tuition, then: 1) it should be less than 50% of your entire costs (next to food and housing primarily), and 2) it should be able to be paid off, or close to being paid off, with full-time minimum wage summer jobs, and with the assistance of part-time minimum wage jobs throughout the year, the assitance of meritocratic scholarships, and the occasional small loan, if need be. A balance needs to be struck between giving away degrees, and crippling students with debt. I know, taking out a loan is a personal choice and all, and we are all accountable for our choices, but the point of a degree is to open up future opportunities for monetary gain not available to those that didn't make the initial PSE investment. I'm not sure how tens of thousands of dollars of debt helps towards this. Tuition is higher than it used to be, however, the average financial returns later on in life with a PSE degree is also higher. Basically, tuition can't be too high (as it is in Nova Scotia), but it also can't be too low (like in Quebec).

Lets assume that a student lives at home (paying no R & B) works in the summer for 7 $/h, 40 hours a week, for 16 weeks. That gives us 280 a week for 4480 total from the summer job. A pretty average situation, assuming a stable job market. The student then works for 7 $/h, 10 hours a week, as a part-time job while back at university. Eight months of this work results in 2240, giving us a total income for the year from working at 6720. Now, this proposal is all dependant on a stable job market and a robust scholarship system, both private and public. Being a spoiled Alberta brat, the gang up in Edmonton gives out up to 2500$ for your average grades being above 80 in grades 10, 11, and 12 (the Alexander Rutherford Scholarship). Assuming four years spent on an undergraduate degree, that's 625 per year, giving us a total of 7345 per year. This is all ignoring private scholarships, which are plentiful, and there's no excuses for not trying for them, and parental funding, which a lucky few (including me) have. So let's throw out a fair tuition number, how about around 3500-4500? Seems to work in the average situation. It might require more government subsidizing of the PSE system, but not to the extent of Quebec.

Calculating things on the computer's calculator and then typing about them is how I like to spent my nights. Yeah.