The future is in the young
By Letter to the Editor on May 12, 2020.
Re: What will your story be? Medicine Hat News April 24, 2020
In your short essay published in the Medicine Hat News April 24, 2020 page
B4 you did not mention that today’s graduates need for extensive financial
planning; for those who plan to pursue post secondary school education.
The present United Conservative Party, of which you claim to be a proud
member, has gone out of its way to impede our future generations. You have
done this by increasing tuition fees, increased the percentage rate on student
loans, and reduced earning power of young people by reducing the hourly
wage.
These three acts have increased the financial burden on students and
families to the point many will not be able to attend post secondary
institutions. Some will just not have enough money for tuition because of
government action to impoverish young people by the reduced hourly wage.
Some will not attend because of the staggering debt load post secondary
education with even higher interest rates. This will delay them from pursuing
their dreams and financially supporting the economy until the loan is paid off.
Our future is in the young people of Canada and education is the key. You
and your government have done its best to put their future in jeopardy.
Is it the belief that only rich people deserve education and the soon to be
obsolete oil companies need tax payer money not our children?
Mike Beaton
Medicine Hat
The cost of running our post secondary institutions is enormous (27.5 billion dollars for the 2016-17 year). Tuition covered a mere 26.6 % of that, leaving the remaining 73.4% to provincial and federal governments. Post secondary education should be seen as an investment, not a right. Prospective students bear the responsibility of researching faculties and future employment opportunities. University is not a playground. Our current tuition is actually quite reasonable and students living a relatively modest existence should be able to graduate without crippling debt. A large portion of student debt can be attributed to lifestyle choices which exceed budgets.
Well said fd4thought. When I finished university, I worked long hours, lots of overtime even on Friday and Saturday nights, just to pay back every penny of my student loans. Seems like Mike Beaton wants the government that he obviously hates to give students a free ride. No doubt the NDP would, they wouldn’t know a budget if they tripped over one. Oh and the “soon to be obsolete oil companies”…. as our furnaces all run in the middle of May. Silly lefties.