Track record:
In a move students are calling a “huge step forward,” Queen’s Park will keep its 5 per cent limit on post-secondary fee hikes for two more years, and beef up student aid to more than 188,000 students.
The announcement Monday morning by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities tackles many student concerns by raising the weekly loan limit for a single student to $150 a week from $140 a week and more than doubling the amount of money – to $103 from $50 – that students may earn each week without being penalized on their student loan.
The move delays for at least two more years any dramatic surge in tuition some had feared might kick in when the current five-year tuition cap expired this spring.
Moreover, the provincial government has added a $500 grant for part-time students with financial need, and delayed for six months after graduation any interest charges on a student loan.
-------
Ominous trends in Quebec (and California- they'd rather build prisons):
http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110315/mtl_mcgill_110315?hub=MontrealHome
Quebec has the lowest tuition rates in Canada and a decade-long freeze on fee hikes, but McGill has been pushing back.
Last September, McGill began charging $29,500 in annual tuition for its two-year MBA program _ nearly nine times higher than provincial limit that caps tuition at around $3,400 per year.
D - imagine a university degree as a second (prior) mortgage in size. With no promise of payoff. Ouch.
-------------------------
http://www.ontarioliberal.ca/NewsBlog/DailyWireDetails.aspx?id=Subject%3A+30%25+Off+Undergraduate+Tuition+In+Ontario
We're moving Ontario forward, together, by keeping the cost of postsecondary education within everyone's reach. Here's what you need to know:
•We're creating a tuition grant that takes 30% off the average undergraduate tuition in Ontario, keeping the cost of postsecondary education affordable for lower- and middle-income families.
•Our tuition grant will save families $1600 per student in university and $730 per student in college, annually.
•We're also creating 60,000 more postsecondary education spaces, in addition to the 200,000 spaces we've already created.
•We're also building three new, leading-edge undergraduate campuses so students can study closer to home.
•The Harris-Hudak PCs cut postsecondary education by $435 million, slashed student aid by 41%, allowed fees to skyrocket by 67% and provided no help to middle-income families.
•The last NDP government promised to eliminate tuition, then said they'd freeze it — but all they ever did was raise it by 50%.
•During tough economic times, instead of supporting students as we did, the NDP made them bear the brunt with a 48% cut to student aid.
The Hudak PCs have a $14 billion hole in their platform, which means they won't help middle-class families afford postsecondary education, and will make deep cuts that send tuition through the roof, again. The current NDP platform barely mentions education but their legacy is clear — they were the party that eliminated up-front student grants, before we brought them back.
-----------------
D - 'nuff said. See my rant on my public transit blog on the fossil fuel cuts.
http://k-w-bike-walk-bus.blogspot.com/
Monday, September 26, 2011
students around the world. ain't it heavy
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10754503
About 250 University of Auckland students protested the Voluntary Student Membership Bill today by occupying the top floor of the Owen G Glenn Building on campus.
After five hours of being holed up, the group marched to the Auckland Central police station after one of the protesters, Marcus Coverdale, was arrested for trespassing.
The students attempted to stop Mr Coverdale from being taken away by surrounding the police car.
The students said they occupied the top floor of the Owen G Glenn Building in opposition to three key issues: the Voluntary Student Membership (VSM) Bill, due to pass its third reading on September 28; the erosion of democracy on campus and the regular hiking of student fees.
--------------------
D - to be fair, they had chained the door.
-------------------------------------
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/8124370/Student-tuition-fee-protest-police-response-to-Millbank-riots-embarrassing-says-Met-chief.html
The demonstration, organised by the National Union of Students and the University and College Union, started peacefully, with up to 50,000 students, lecturers and supporters, marching from Whitehall past Downing Street and Parliament.
But around an hour after the protest started, violence flared at Millbank Tower, close to the Tate Britain art gallery where the march was due to end with a rally.
Hundreds of workers were evacuated from the building, which also houses other organisations including Government agencies, as windows were smashed and a fire was lit.
-----------------------------
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/10/chile-riot-student-protest-violence
Violence erupted on the streets of Chile's capital and other cities as tens of thousands of students staged another protest demanding changes in public education.
Masked demonstrators burned cars and barricades, looted shops and threw furniture at police in Santiago on Tuesday. Some attacked an apartment building, throwing rocks and breaking windows. Riot police used tear gas and tanks with water cannons to push them back.
By nightfall, at least 273 protesters were detained, including 73 in Santiago, and 23 police officers were injured, said Rodrigo Ubilla, a deputy interior minister.
Five days after a banned march ended in nearly 900 arrests, students and teachers marched peacefully in Santiago and elsewhere in Chile on Tuesday, calling for the government to increase spending on schooling and provide "free and equal" public education.
--------------------------------------------------
D - riots for 'free and equal' public education?!
Can you image apathetic Canadian university students even protesting mid-recession tuition hikes at twice the rate of inflation?
The tuition CAP in Ontario, for example, is 5% per year.
That is considered restraint.
About 250 University of Auckland students protested the Voluntary Student Membership Bill today by occupying the top floor of the Owen G Glenn Building on campus.
After five hours of being holed up, the group marched to the Auckland Central police station after one of the protesters, Marcus Coverdale, was arrested for trespassing.
The students attempted to stop Mr Coverdale from being taken away by surrounding the police car.
The students said they occupied the top floor of the Owen G Glenn Building in opposition to three key issues: the Voluntary Student Membership (VSM) Bill, due to pass its third reading on September 28; the erosion of democracy on campus and the regular hiking of student fees.
--------------------
D - to be fair, they had chained the door.
-------------------------------------
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/8124370/Student-tuition-fee-protest-police-response-to-Millbank-riots-embarrassing-says-Met-chief.html
The demonstration, organised by the National Union of Students and the University and College Union, started peacefully, with up to 50,000 students, lecturers and supporters, marching from Whitehall past Downing Street and Parliament.
But around an hour after the protest started, violence flared at Millbank Tower, close to the Tate Britain art gallery where the march was due to end with a rally.
Hundreds of workers were evacuated from the building, which also houses other organisations including Government agencies, as windows were smashed and a fire was lit.
-----------------------------
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/10/chile-riot-student-protest-violence
Violence erupted on the streets of Chile's capital and other cities as tens of thousands of students staged another protest demanding changes in public education.
Masked demonstrators burned cars and barricades, looted shops and threw furniture at police in Santiago on Tuesday. Some attacked an apartment building, throwing rocks and breaking windows. Riot police used tear gas and tanks with water cannons to push them back.
By nightfall, at least 273 protesters were detained, including 73 in Santiago, and 23 police officers were injured, said Rodrigo Ubilla, a deputy interior minister.
Five days after a banned march ended in nearly 900 arrests, students and teachers marched peacefully in Santiago and elsewhere in Chile on Tuesday, calling for the government to increase spending on schooling and provide "free and equal" public education.
--------------------------------------------------
D - riots for 'free and equal' public education?!
Can you image apathetic Canadian university students even protesting mid-recession tuition hikes at twice the rate of inflation?
The tuition CAP in Ontario, for example, is 5% per year.
That is considered restraint.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
night clubs ban young men (and very young women)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/trends/trends-features/more-nightclubs-saying-no-young-men-allowed/article2174905/
Some of the country’s hottest clubs, including Toronto’s Muzik, Maison Mercer and Pravda Vodka Bar; Ottawa’s Velvet Room and Montreal’s Candi Bar practice such ageism. Obviously drinking establishments are allowed to cultivate a convivial atmosphere – Canada is not a despotic state after all – but blanket discrimination directed toward an entire demographic is, well, surprising in this PC age.
Muzik, whose management was unavailable for comment, seeks a mature crowd and (according to its website) restricts men under 25 and women under 21. It’s Mr. Zakaria’s experience that in many cases “it seems as though they are willing to forgo the rule if it is a girl.” Other bars in Toronto known for their age policies include Century Room (21+) and sister club Maison, where they have recently begun to only accept patrons 25 years or older.
---
D - I have worked at a bar for a decade.
And am 40. So am of 2 minds on this.
There ARE tendencies that come with young men that make me avoid bars full of them.
And yes, very young women ought to be avoided for comparable reasons too.
But yeah, I guess it is discrimination.
Unless, I suppose, we count 'youth only' events as being versus older people.
Any time I talk about ageism, folks default to the assumption I'm talking about old people.
Some of the country’s hottest clubs, including Toronto’s Muzik, Maison Mercer and Pravda Vodka Bar; Ottawa’s Velvet Room and Montreal’s Candi Bar practice such ageism. Obviously drinking establishments are allowed to cultivate a convivial atmosphere – Canada is not a despotic state after all – but blanket discrimination directed toward an entire demographic is, well, surprising in this PC age.
Muzik, whose management was unavailable for comment, seeks a mature crowd and (according to its website) restricts men under 25 and women under 21. It’s Mr. Zakaria’s experience that in many cases “it seems as though they are willing to forgo the rule if it is a girl.” Other bars in Toronto known for their age policies include Century Room (21+) and sister club Maison, where they have recently begun to only accept patrons 25 years or older.
---
D - I have worked at a bar for a decade.
And am 40. So am of 2 minds on this.
There ARE tendencies that come with young men that make me avoid bars full of them.
And yes, very young women ought to be avoided for comparable reasons too.
But yeah, I guess it is discrimination.
Unless, I suppose, we count 'youth only' events as being versus older people.
Any time I talk about ageism, folks default to the assumption I'm talking about old people.
Friday, August 12, 2011
boomers retiring now. gov't on
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-starting-to-tackle-rapidly-aging-workforce-with-renewed-urgency/article2127263/
“The oldest baby boomers start to turn 65 in 2011, meaning the dependency ratio will start to increase significantly in a matter of months,” states the draft report, which was obtained in redacted form by The Globe under Access to Information.
-----
Monte Solberg, who preceded Ms. Finley as Human Resources minister and retired from politics in October, 2008, said incentives for older workers were among the easiest options – politically speaking – available to the Conservatives in the face of an aging population.
Now, he says, the government will have to consider the hard ones, like raising the retirement age – a move so controversial he says it would likely require a Royal Commission to build public support.
Even more pressing are the upcoming negotiations on health-care transfers to the provinces, which currently grow at six per cent a year under the Canada Health Transfer Program that expires in fiscal 2013-14.
“It’s a very real problem,” said Mr. Solberg in an interview. “It’s easily the largest unfunded liability that we have, without question...
------
D - the future is now. I have watched this topic be largely ignored for 2 decades.
“The oldest baby boomers start to turn 65 in 2011, meaning the dependency ratio will start to increase significantly in a matter of months,” states the draft report, which was obtained in redacted form by The Globe under Access to Information.
-----
Monte Solberg, who preceded Ms. Finley as Human Resources minister and retired from politics in October, 2008, said incentives for older workers were among the easiest options – politically speaking – available to the Conservatives in the face of an aging population.
Now, he says, the government will have to consider the hard ones, like raising the retirement age – a move so controversial he says it would likely require a Royal Commission to build public support.
Even more pressing are the upcoming negotiations on health-care transfers to the provinces, which currently grow at six per cent a year under the Canada Health Transfer Program that expires in fiscal 2013-14.
“It’s a very real problem,” said Mr. Solberg in an interview. “It’s easily the largest unfunded liability that we have, without question...
------
D - the future is now. I have watched this topic be largely ignored for 2 decades.
Monday, August 8, 2011
chomsky on student debt
http://www.alternet.org/education/151921/chomsky%3A_public_education_under_massive_corporate_assault_%E2%80%94_what%27s_next/
"The era of affordable four-year public universities heavily subsidized by the state may be over."
Now that's one important way to implement the policy of indoctrination of the young. People who are in a debt trap have very few options. Now that is true of social control generally; that is also a regular feature of international policy — those of you who study the IMF and the World Bank and others are well aware. As the Mexico-California example illustrates, the reasons for conscious destruction of the greatest public education system in the world are not economic. Economist Doug Henwood points out that it would be quite easy to make higher education completely free. In the U.S., it accounts for less than 2 percent of gross domestic product. The personal share of about 1 percent of gross domestic product is a third of the income of the richest 10,000 households. That's the same as three months of Pentagon spending. It's less than four months of wasted administrative costs of the privatized healthcare system, which is an international scandal.
It's about twice the per capita cost of comparable countries, has some of the worst outcomes, and in fact it's the basis for the famous deficit. If the U.S. had the same kind of healthcare system as other industrial countries, not only would there be no deficit, but there would be a surplus. However, to introduce these facts into an electoral campaign would be suicidally insane, Henwood points out. Now he's correct. In a democracy where elections are essentially bought by concentrations of private capital, it doesn't matter what the public wants.
----
Noam is the MAN!
"The era of affordable four-year public universities heavily subsidized by the state may be over."
Now that's one important way to implement the policy of indoctrination of the young. People who are in a debt trap have very few options. Now that is true of social control generally; that is also a regular feature of international policy — those of you who study the IMF and the World Bank and others are well aware. As the Mexico-California example illustrates, the reasons for conscious destruction of the greatest public education system in the world are not economic. Economist Doug Henwood points out that it would be quite easy to make higher education completely free. In the U.S., it accounts for less than 2 percent of gross domestic product. The personal share of about 1 percent of gross domestic product is a third of the income of the richest 10,000 households. That's the same as three months of Pentagon spending. It's less than four months of wasted administrative costs of the privatized healthcare system, which is an international scandal.
It's about twice the per capita cost of comparable countries, has some of the worst outcomes, and in fact it's the basis for the famous deficit. If the U.S. had the same kind of healthcare system as other industrial countries, not only would there be no deficit, but there would be a surplus. However, to introduce these facts into an electoral campaign would be suicidally insane, Henwood points out. Now he's correct. In a democracy where elections are essentially bought by concentrations of private capital, it doesn't matter what the public wants.
----
Noam is the MAN!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
grad sells self to sugar daddy 2 pay loan
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/29/seeking-arrangement-college-students_n_913373.html?ncid=dynaldushpmg00000042
A month prior, faced with about $15,000 in unpaid tuition and overdue bills, Taylor and her roommate typed "tuition," "debt," and "money for school" into Google. A website called SeekingArrangement.com popped up. Intrigued by the promise of what the site billed as a "college tuition sugar daddy," Taylor created a "sugar baby" profile and eventually connected with the man from Greenwich. ("Taylor" is the pseudonym she uses with men she meets online. Neither she nor any of the other women interviewed for this article permitted their real names be used.)
In her profile on the site, Taylor describes herself as "a full-time college student studying psychology and looking to meet someone to help pay the bills." Photos on the site show her in revealing outfits, a mane of caramel-colored hair framing her face. But unlike other dating sites, where a user might also list preferred hobbies or desired traits, Taylor instead indicates preferences for a "sugar daddy" and an "arrangement" in the range of $1,000 to $3,000 a month.
Saddled with piles of student debt and a job-scarce, lackluster economy, current college students and recent graduates are selling themselves to pursue a diploma or pay down their loans. An increasing number, according to the the owners of websites that broker such hook-ups, have taken to the web in search of online suitors or wealthy benefactors who, in exchange for sex, companionship, or both, might help with the bills.
----
D - recall when a university educatio was so your daughters would NOT need to sell themselves for sex?
Or to avoid involvement with police.
http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/06/swat-team-busts-into-house-over-student-loan-default/
Or to commit crimes.
http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/University-debt-drove-student-attempt-armed/story-12849793-detail/story.html
A month prior, faced with about $15,000 in unpaid tuition and overdue bills, Taylor and her roommate typed "tuition," "debt," and "money for school" into Google. A website called SeekingArrangement.com popped up. Intrigued by the promise of what the site billed as a "college tuition sugar daddy," Taylor created a "sugar baby" profile and eventually connected with the man from Greenwich. ("Taylor" is the pseudonym she uses with men she meets online. Neither she nor any of the other women interviewed for this article permitted their real names be used.)
In her profile on the site, Taylor describes herself as "a full-time college student studying psychology and looking to meet someone to help pay the bills." Photos on the site show her in revealing outfits, a mane of caramel-colored hair framing her face. But unlike other dating sites, where a user might also list preferred hobbies or desired traits, Taylor instead indicates preferences for a "sugar daddy" and an "arrangement" in the range of $1,000 to $3,000 a month.
Saddled with piles of student debt and a job-scarce, lackluster economy, current college students and recent graduates are selling themselves to pursue a diploma or pay down their loans. An increasing number, according to the the owners of websites that broker such hook-ups, have taken to the web in search of online suitors or wealthy benefactors who, in exchange for sex, companionship, or both, might help with the bills.
----
D - recall when a university educatio was so your daughters would NOT need to sell themselves for sex?
Or to avoid involvement with police.
http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/06/swat-team-busts-into-house-over-student-loan-default/
Or to commit crimes.
http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/University-debt-drove-student-attempt-armed/story-12849793-detail/story.html
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
G&M article on student debt
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/household-finances/staggering-debt-lessons-for-young-and-old/article2109256/
Between 1995 and 2005, the proportion of graduating students in debt increased from 49 per cent to 57 per cent, a 2010 Statistics Canada report said. Undergraduate tuition fees rose by an average of almost 10 per cent a year between 1990 and 1999. The rate of increase has since slowed to 5.3 per cent.
D - yup, and I started university at that 1990 mark. They got rid of grants then too.
Note that "only" 5.3% is still way above the inflation rate, or the rate of wage increase. The law of 72 says that'll still double tuition in c. 15 years.
According to Statistics Canada, the average debt for student loans increased from $15,200 to $18,800. But after adjusting for inflation, debt has not increased at all, said Craig Alexander, chief economist at TD Canada.
“I found that really surprising, given how tuition costs have increased over the years,” Mr. Alexander said.
“I think the only way to reconcile that is either students are contributing more to paying for their financial education, or their parents are, and I suspect it’s more likely the latter … Canadians are starting to save for retirement later in life, and partly, I think this is because more and more parents are helping out students with paying the tuition fees.”
The Statistics Canada report also noted that in 2005, “Canada not only had more individuals graduating with student loans, but also an increasing proportion graduating with larger debt loads than in the past.” The proportion of student loan borrowers that owed $25,000 or more at graduation increased from 17 per cent in 1995 to 27 per cent in 2005. The proportion owing $50,000 or more tripled from 2 per cent to 6 per cent in the same decade.
Collectively, students in Canada owe the federal government more than $15-billion, said Roxanne Dubois, chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students.
D - aside. I live in a university town. University of Waterloo is within a block of my residence. Laurier is a 5 minute bike ride away. Plus we have Conestoga College.
Waterloo is apparently *the* most intelligent community.
I've met and chatted with Fotini at the Perimeter Institute- one of the top 10 minds to solve Grand Unified Theory or whatever passes for it now.
Walking up the scenic Father David Bauer Drive to the cafe, I just might encounter Stephan Hawking cruising in his wheelchair while on a visit.
A university town thrives on recessions. No work? Not enough to pay off a student loan? Add gasoline to the fire. Go and hide in school some more.
That is exactly what I did. The amount of student housing - major projects - going up around here is huge.
Interestingly, once the recession properly ends, and boom times return, this will result in surplus of student housing, thereby driving down their renting costs.
Between 1995 and 2005, the proportion of graduating students in debt increased from 49 per cent to 57 per cent, a 2010 Statistics Canada report said. Undergraduate tuition fees rose by an average of almost 10 per cent a year between 1990 and 1999. The rate of increase has since slowed to 5.3 per cent.
D - yup, and I started university at that 1990 mark. They got rid of grants then too.
Note that "only" 5.3% is still way above the inflation rate, or the rate of wage increase. The law of 72 says that'll still double tuition in c. 15 years.
According to Statistics Canada, the average debt for student loans increased from $15,200 to $18,800. But after adjusting for inflation, debt has not increased at all, said Craig Alexander, chief economist at TD Canada.
“I found that really surprising, given how tuition costs have increased over the years,” Mr. Alexander said.
“I think the only way to reconcile that is either students are contributing more to paying for their financial education, or their parents are, and I suspect it’s more likely the latter … Canadians are starting to save for retirement later in life, and partly, I think this is because more and more parents are helping out students with paying the tuition fees.”
The Statistics Canada report also noted that in 2005, “Canada not only had more individuals graduating with student loans, but also an increasing proportion graduating with larger debt loads than in the past.” The proportion of student loan borrowers that owed $25,000 or more at graduation increased from 17 per cent in 1995 to 27 per cent in 2005. The proportion owing $50,000 or more tripled from 2 per cent to 6 per cent in the same decade.
Collectively, students in Canada owe the federal government more than $15-billion, said Roxanne Dubois, chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students.
D - aside. I live in a university town. University of Waterloo is within a block of my residence. Laurier is a 5 minute bike ride away. Plus we have Conestoga College.
Waterloo is apparently *the* most intelligent community.
I've met and chatted with Fotini at the Perimeter Institute- one of the top 10 minds to solve Grand Unified Theory or whatever passes for it now.
Walking up the scenic Father David Bauer Drive to the cafe, I just might encounter Stephan Hawking cruising in his wheelchair while on a visit.
A university town thrives on recessions. No work? Not enough to pay off a student loan? Add gasoline to the fire. Go and hide in school some more.
That is exactly what I did. The amount of student housing - major projects - going up around here is huge.
Interestingly, once the recession properly ends, and boom times return, this will result in surplus of student housing, thereby driving down their renting costs.
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