on Cdn. Gov't Debt

D - this is a pic of debt held by foreigners.
Notice how suddenly Japan looks OK.
Their debt is largely held by the people of that nation.
Then look at us.
Sure, not quite as bad as the USA.
But not golden either.

Aside- we are not the only nation with a looming retirement problem.
China's one-child policy has resulted in younger men who will need
to care for not ONE, but TWO parents by themselves.
Why do Chinese save so much? And why won't they ever have a robust
domestic economy? They must save that much, without social programs in place,
to take care of their parents in the decades to come.

I think of intergenerational debt as the sins of the father being
visited on the son, and his son, to the 5th generation, to borrow some
Old Testament passage.
It is blood guilt of a sort, the idea that one's children must pay for one's
own wrong-doing.
We don't have the excuse of a Great War to fall back on.
The last few decades have been about hedonism and luxury and living beyond one's means.

Harper: the issue is health care, stupid

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/health-care-talks-with-provinces-should-top-harpers-list-poll-finds/article2044202/

The survey suggests 59.2 per cent of respondents believed working with the provinces on healthcare is an immediate priority compared to 44.1 per cent who said that eliminating the deficit was most pressing and 35.3 per cent who viewed crime-fighting as the top priority for the country.

D - I cannot help but think how those billions to be sent into tough-on-crime policies could help with other less feel-good but more important issues.

US grad's story- college is scam, a bubble to burst

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/college-is-a-scam-lets-make-some-money-off-it-2011-05-26

Student-loan debt is now greater than credit-card debt for the first time ever. After the huge debt crisis we experienced in 2008 and the financial bust in housing that ruined so many lives, you would think we would be having more of a national discussion on this — but we just aren’t.

Forty-four percent of 2009 graduates are either unemployed or hold jobs that don’t require degrees. So, in other words, these millions of young people are five years behind their peers, and many are holding over $100,000 in debt. What a shame.

On whether the increased income is worth it:

Obviously, this test will never get done, but the basic idea is common sense. Take people who are equally intelligent and ambitious and give them a five-year head start, with no debt. They are going to do very well, I have no doubt.

Tuitions have gone up 10 times faster than inflation in the past 30 years and three times faster than health-care costs in the past 30 years. We need to have an active discussion on this as a society. Meanwhile, the greatest entrepreneurs, artists and inventors in history either didn’t go to college at all or dropped out (or were kicked out).

Ouch...