Ontario undergrad tuition fees, analyzed

D - the devil is in the details.

If gov't funding was basically frozen for 3 years, and tuitions were hiked in reaction, then where does that leave the Ontario Liberals with their promise of a tuition grant?

Certainly, Ontarians seem to pay more than the rest of Canada.

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/abysmal-youth-vote-prompts-call-for-a-remedial-strategy/article2248509/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Politics&utm_content=2248509

But the voter participation rate of people between the ages of 18 and 24 rose from 37.4 per cent in 2008 to an only slightly less abysmal 38.8 per cent in 2011. Among Canadians between the ages of 24 and 34, it actually dropped from 47.9 per cent to 45.1 per cent.

D - the very young adult vote spike can be attributed to the awareness-raising of the leadnow.ca group.

Leadnow.ca is an independent advocacy organization that brings generations of Canadians together to achieve progress through democracy.

We're working together to build a stronger democracy that protects our environment, creates economic opportunity while increasing equality, and guarantees that everyone receives the care they need.

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D - the Federal Liberals have been decimated. Whether they can reinvent themselves remains to be seen. But what is clear is they've lost their core supporters. So what to do?

Well, the voters are old and white. The disengaged are more young and multicultural.

There are sufficient young adults disengaged from the political process to form the basis for a reinvented Federal Liberal Party.

There is still some discussion about merging the centre and left into one super-party, much like the Conservatives and Reforms did to the left. Honestly, the sheer grassroots fund-raising of the new Conservative Party is such that we won't see any other party win a federal election for a very long time.

The Federal Liberals have been in an intellectual coma for at least 2 terms. Paralyzed by the fear of right-wing attack ads, they became petrified at the idea of introducing new platform planks. So they went obsolete. The # of times I saw how to hit the Conservatives on some terrible policy or person in charge, and watched the Liberals do nothing, well I cannot count it on my fingers. The Liberals don't deserve to be even the opposition- they have not been a functioning party for quite some time.

The youth vote would lead to uncharted territory for federal politics. There has always been a right leaning tendency in ageing and well-established voters. But this trend has never been quite so clearcut before. For the Liberals to adopt policies with intergenerational sustainability in mind would essentially create a age-based generation us-and-them dynamic in federal politics.

cost of dying

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/end-of-life/how-much-does-dying-cost-canadians/article2252845/

Almost 70 per cent of people die in the hospital, including some in high-tech intensive-care beds, which cost about $1-million a year to operate. Many patients fail to complete advance directives or communicate preferences to their families, meaning they could be subject to costly, invasive treatments they did not actually want.

...

Prof. Fassbender’s research shows it costs the health-care system about $39,947 to treat a patient with organ failure near the end of life; $36,652 for a terminal illness; and $31,881 for frailty. Sudden death is the least costly at $10,223.

D - the # dying should be c. 2x now by c. 2030.

Some suggest that by filling out advance directives, it can help ensure that patients receive treatments they want at end of life. The Royal Society of Canada’s report on end-of-life decisions earlier this month pointed out the need for people to express their wishes.

D - just inform folks, and they will make the choices for themselves that also serve society. Most realize that expensive painful treatments with almost no chance of success are a waste.

Perhaps, like organ-donation, require a living-will 'do not revive' option - or every ? 5yrs for the new photo health cards.

Empower people to make choices for themselves and balance the budget as a fringe benefit.

rebuild credit after bankruptcy

So your student loan proved too much for you. You went bankrupt.

Now what?

Get a secured credit card. There are 2 choices:

1) Capital1 Mastercard, $300 min.

2) Hometrust secured Visa, $500

Both have comparable fees - about $60 annually plus lotsa sneaky fees. C. 20% interest.

Your goal is to spend about half your max. monthly and to repay it promptly.

There are tricks.

Don't check your credit rating online in the middle of the night - that implies you can't sleep since you are worried about it.

Certain products are linked to stable financial situations - such as premium bird seed.

v.v. - chromed hub caps.

Don't check your credit report often - that hurts the rating.

Your goal is to eventually have 2 rotating lines of credit - no less, no more.

This puts you on the map of the big credit rating companies.

undergrad is the 'new high school diploma'

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/11/17/the-job-market-for-bachelors-degree-holders-infographic/

D - the shift happened a decade ago.

But here is a question - is the loss of income during those years plus the student loan worth it?

Does the delay in entering the work force pay for itself?

Entry level jobs likely don't justify the above considerations.

Ontario health care spending to double by 2030

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/top-economist-warns-canada-against-two-tiered-health-care/article2239426/

Mr. Drummond’s report for the Ontario government will not be released until early next year. But he says the government won’t meet its commitment to erase the province’s deficit by 2018 unless it caps annual growth in spending on health care, education and other programs at 1 per cent for the next six years. The province is facing a projected deficit of $16-billion this year.

Reducing spending will not be easy. Canadians spent $192-billion on health care in 2010, accounting for just under 12 per cent of the country’s economic output or GDP, the report says. In Ontario alone, government spending on health care has climbed an average of 7.6 per cent a year over the past decade.

The grim reality is that provincial revenues will not grow fast enough to offset rising health-care costs, the report says. The report is the latest foray into public policy by Mr. Drummond, one of Canada’s most influential advisers to governments. In a report last year, he warned that left unchecked, health-care costs are set to reach between 70 to 80 per cent of total program spending by 2030, up from just over 40 per cent today.

In the earlier report, Mr. Drummond and TD Bank economist Derek Burleton proposed that the provinces bill affluent seniors for their drugs and pay doctors based on the quality and cost-effectiveness of their care.

generational twist on haves income disparity

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/07/wealth-gap-grows-between-young-and-old/

The wealth gap between younger and older Americans has stretched to the widest on record, worsened by a prolonged economic downturn that has wiped out job opportunities for young adults and saddled them with housing and college debt.

The typical U.S. household headed by a person age 65 or older has a net worth 47 times greater than a household headed by someone under 35, according to an analysis of new census

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/07/wealth-gap-grows-between-young-and-old/#ixzz1d5UpGibK

support informal caregivers for retirees

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/andre-picard/we-need-a-health-plan-for-boomers-now/article2220127/

But Dr. Chappell shoots down this dire notion, noting that 75 to 85 per cent of care is provided by informal caregivers.

Family, friends and community groups provide care and they do so willingly. While much attention has been paid to the negative consequences of care giving – stress, depression, physical and emotional strain – the report notes that most caregivers also experience enjoyment and a sense of satisfaction caring for their loved ones. In fact, many of those who provide care to older adults don’t even define themselves as caregivers nor see what they do as work.

These data again challenge the assumption that there is going to be a massive shift to expensive, institutional care as boomers age.

But the key message of Dr. Chappell’s report is this: Caregivers should be supported in the care they willingly provide.

The system that exists in most Canadian provinces today is precisely the opposite. There are some modest tax measures such as compassionate care leave available through the Employment Insurance program. There is also some respite care offered in three guises: sitter services to give caregivers short breaks; adult daycare a few days a week; and temporary beds in nursing homes to give the family a break.

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D: subsidizing informal caregivers is still vastly cheaper than placing the retired in retirement homes. And allows them the dignity of living semi-independently for longer. It is highly cost-effective.