Blog Post #7 - Lower tuition costs in Ontario

I recently read Ragu's blog post about Wynne's lower (or free) tuition costs. You can read it here:

http://edu5199.blogspot.ca/2016/03/9-ontarios-tuition-initiative.html

I would like to post my own thoughts and present my own arguments to his Blog post.

At first, I too was quite pleased to hear about lower tuition costs for low-income families. And, like you, I also thought about how this could decrease the number of high-school dropouts and increase the amount of students who choose to further their education in college and university. However, I do not share the same view as you in regards to the "me-first" attitude.

I like to believe I am a generous person. I do my fair share of good deeds for people in need. And yes, I volunteer when I can. For this reason, I consider myself a liberal and strive for equality amongst all people. However, as a person who works hard for their money, and also comes from a high-income household, why should I be paying more than my fellow students for a situation out of my control?

I've been working since the age of 16. Yet, a considerable amount of my savings are poured into school tuition (which we all know is quite expensive). And who paid for it? I did. Out of my own pocket. I DO NOT qualify for OSAP. And once again, I DO NOT qualify for this "lower/free tuition cost".

The government of Ontario believes that parents in high-income households will pay for their children's tuition, but not every family is in the same boat. My parents decided that I should learn the value of money (and I have), by allowing me to pay for my own school tuition, just as they have when they were younger. Oh, and as an FYI, they were dirt poor when they paid for their schooling.

This is why people outcry for injustice. Because the government "assumes". Never assume. If they wanted TRUE equality, instead of cutting tuition costs for low-income families, they would lower the tuition cost for ALL students.

Think of the amount of money they will dedicate to these lower-income students. If every single student's 4-year degree costs ~30k$, why could they not remove the 1000$-2000$ for every student, across Ontario? To me, this would make more people happy, and still motivate students to pursue their education. Hey, instead of paying 6000$-10000$ a year, I could pay 4000-8000$, which still leaves us with 4000$-8000$ in our bank accounts.

Oh and let's not forget WHO will pay for the lower/free tuition! You got it! Higher income families. So on top of NOT reaping any of the benefits, we get MORE taxes! Now THAT is fair. (/sarcasm).