Chasing the Student Vote
October 15, 2007 | 05:11 PM
With the election date set, Brad Wall and Lorne Calvert have wasted no time in grabbing the attention of the young voters of the province. It wasn’t long after Mr. Wall announced a $20,000 tuition rebate for university graduates that Mr. Calvert announced that his party has plans to cut university tuition by $1,000 for the 2008-09 school year.
The $1,000 tuition cut that would come into effect next year might be enough to get the votes of some university students and their parents, but what can it really offer in terms of growth for the province. Will it attract people from outside Saskatchewan to move here to attend university?
Well, that’s a nice thought, but ultimately a $1,000 tuition break isn’t going to give us far lower tuition than the other provinces, and as far as I’m concerned it still won’t be low enough to attract a large number of people to move here for their education. And the same goes for people already living in the province; the tuition break is nice, but it’s not enough to play a big role in most people’s decision on where to go to school.
On the other hand, what Mr. Wall proposed seems to make a little more sense. Getting people to stay here to do business and start a family is what will grow this province. Hopefully, the tuition rebate will get people to stay here after graduation, and if they want all the money, they’ll stay here for seven years. In that time, they might start a family, and it is then that they will realize the true advantages of the Saskatchewan way of life. Living in Saskatchewan isn’t very appealing to a university student, but it is appealing to someone looking to start a family.
For that reason, the Sask Party’s plan, which is committed to getting people to stay here and start a professional and family life, is more effective than the NDP’s plan. The NDP’s plan might get people here or keep them here for their education, but it does nothing to convince them to stay when they’re done, and to me, that’s what matters.
I’m going to give this round to Brad Wall and the Sask Party because their approach seems more conducive to the overall growth of our province.
Comments: (11)
"Maybe you should ask the NDP why they didn't have a bigger reduction in your tuition cost while you attended"
I have done that too, and have gotten the same non-answers in the form of vagueness.
The reason I'm asking, as a recent grad, why someone who graduated 2 years after me gets $100,000 in tax-free income, vs me who gets $350, is that it's so completely out of proportion! One year you get several day's worth of income tax-free, and the following year, you get (for some) more than a year's income tax-free? So if I had chosen to take one less class during my final year, and instead gone to work, and finished my degree during a single night class, I'd have had a 28,000% increase in my tax break???
Yes I am bitter about it. But really, imagine if the government enabled a new income tax break, but only for people who turned 18 this year. If you turned 18 last year, you're not eligible. Why not reduce the taxes all around?
The answer seems to be that they care about encouraging new grads to stay, but not anyone else.
Posted October 18, 2007 10:52 AM
Carl from Radville,
What do you think of the two plans as they apply to today's students and grads? Do you agree with the political parties when they say today's student is more deserving of a huge tax incentive to stay in SK than recent grads who stayed here are?
I wonder if you realize how much post-secondary tuition has been *de-funded* by the federal and provincial governments since the 1980s? You studied in the late '70s, when the federal government was contemplating an elimination of tuition altogether, under the UN's Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights it signed in '76. In that ideological climate, whoo-boy, you had it good, brother. Bet you had some good times on that uber-socialized tuition.
What was you bill in 1979? Here, I'll pay you back with my GST cheque. Would that cover it?
Did you know that full tuition increased in SK from $2,300 in '93-'94 to $5,000 in '05-'06, after the feds cut $7 billion in transfer payments to the provinces for post-secondary and social spending? Yeah, probably quintuple what you paid. So maybe you don't need a rebate on your 1970s tuition they way some recent grads could use one on theirs.
Some facts, just for your records.
Posted October 17, 2007 05:28 PM
I disagree that the Sask Party won this round, the NDP plan is much much better for students and future graduates.
First and foremost, the Sask Party plan fails to address up front costs which are a well-researched barrier to access.
But the accessibility argument aside, the Sask Party back-end approach will eventually negate any savings graduates receive do to exorbitant tuition increases of the past decade, which are sure to resume in the absence of tuition regulation. The year before the NDP froze university tuition fees in 2005, tuitions for some colleges at the U of S increased by almost 20%. With Saskatchewan tuition fees already among the highest in the country (that is unless the NDP reduction plan is followed), the $20,000 tax credit would soon be consumed by tuition increases. On the flip side the NDP 's upfront regulation saves students on average $2500 the first year and the savings will increase each year they attend school that the freeze and reduction are in place.
The NDP plan of upfront tuition regulation complemented with post-graduate credits is comprehensive where as the tax incentive approach of the Sask Party will only lead to higher tuition and more student debt to pay off.
Finally, having recently moved from my home province (where my heart still lies), I don't think that a tax credit is going to be the deciding factor for many young people. Jobs (which the NDP record is great on) and a low cost of living (a key pillar in ONLY the NDP platform) are much more important - but still these are not the only determining factors. No "youth retention plan" should be treating young people solely as economic actors.
Posted October 17, 2007 04:52 PM
I'm a grad from the U of S, (1980), I wonder how much I should get back on my tuition! I've stayed in the province and have worked full-time ever since! Allen & Colin, you chose to attend post secondary education and you did so on your own accord. Maybe you should ask the NDP why they didn't have a bigger reduction in your tuition cost while you attended, after all they were in power for the last 16years, nearly your entire student life! Something that is baffling to me is, how is it that students don't understand how much their tuition is already subsidized by the tax payer! You two need to grow up, and get over your spitefulness!
Posted October 17, 2007 10:41 AM
I think the parties should re-think these plans to make them more inclusive of all young people and recent graduates.
Why shouldn't young entrepreneurs who eschew the postsecondary path or young mothers who don't pursue degrees or diplomas be just as eligible for the tax incentives as "new" graduates?
Or why not allow older graduates from pre-2006 graduation years to opt-in to the plan?
If a five-year plan begins in 2008-09, why not let an older graduate who graduated less than five years ago claim their remaining years under this plan?
For instance, if someone graduated in May 2005, why not allow them equal access to the tax credit uincentives as they exist until May 2010? That would only allow said graduate two years under the plan, but it would be more fair than neglecting them completely.
If a seven-year plan begins in 2008-09, why not allow the same retroactivity? A May 2004 graduate would be eligible for Sask Party tuition credit rebates until May 2011, under this stipulation. Sure they would have lost four years, but would have three remaining.
Let's think about it.
Posted October 17, 2007 08:58 AM
Colin, I hear you. The answer is up the creek. I believe both of these plans are retroactive to graduates of 2006 only. I finished a degree in 2005, therefore did not meet the criteria and was rejected from the current government tax rebate plan. Who knows why these political parties feel today's student is more important than yesterday's.
Posted October 16, 2007 06:10 PM
I am a saskabusher who went to school in BC. The NDP plan gives me $$$ incentive to relocate and work here; the sask. party plan does nothing for me whatsoever. It seems to me that attracting out of province grads is the only way to fill the gaps in he workforce we have here.....doctors?? nurses???? hello Mr. Wall...where will they come from???
Posted October 16, 2007 06:08 PM
What I've never gotten a straight answer to is how do these plans affect those who have already graduated? I finished my degree a few years ago, when you got a ~$350 tax credit, pocket change compared to $20,000, or "first $100,000 earned tax free". Can I opt into the 7 year plan, since it's only been 2 years since I got my degree? Or is everyone who graduated before the gov cared about keeping grads in the province up the creek?
Posted October 16, 2007 02:35 PM
I just wish the Sask Party approach applied to students that did their education elsewhere. Im from Regina, went to school in Calgary and worked there for a year. My husband and I moved back to Regina a few months ago and we aren't elligible for the Sask Party tuition rebate because our post-secondary was done outside the province. Whereas with the NDP...we are elligible. The NDP tuition rebate actually did play a little in our minds when we were deciding to move home. I guess what Im saying is that the NDP plan attracts graduated talent from outside the province as well.
And for the record: I graduated in an engineering field and my new Regina position matched what I was making in Calgary.
Posted October 16, 2007 12:27 PM
Hold on there, remember the graduate tax rebate the NDP passed to get young people to stay in the province? As I college student I can attest to all that the NDP have done for us eg) min. wage increased.
Posted October 15, 2007 10:35 PM
Seven years to get $20,000 rebate? In seven years, an engineering graduate could have an addtional $100,000 easily by relocating to Calgary and working in the oil and gas industry. I fail to see how that idea or the NDP idea of reducing tution next year by $1000 will keep new grads in the province.
How about creating jobs to keep people in the province and creating an environment that will create sustainable growth in the province, similar to the environment that is currently in Saskatchewan. There is now more jobs in Saskatchewan than ever before, and the population drain is beginning to change directions.
Don't base your student vote on who is going to give you back the most cash over 7 years. Base your vote on who has a proven track record for creating an environment for sustainable growth.
Posted October 15, 2007 09:32 PM