Education Shouldn't Be Just About Getting a Job. But You Still Need to Pay for All That Education Somehow.

I couldn't help myself. I jumped into the Soundoff comments section of the aforementioned Vancouver Sun article. This time I'll be smarter and cut and paste in my comments, instead of putting in the link, which eventually gets broken when the topic dies down.


Name: Gail
Occupation: f/t working student
Location: Vancouver

Here's something Gordon Campbell would never have said during the Olympic bid: "Whistler/Vancouver is proud to host the 2010 Olympic Games. We have no shortage of highly-educated labourers with huge student loans to fill the thousands of mostly temporary jobs, and who will live in the low-rent housing that remains after the athletes go home..." That's a pessimistic view, but the current BC government is all too ready to point their finger at the NDP's shortcomings when they should be doing more to create jobs and stimulate the economy than depend on the Olympics. Otherwise, the "brain drain" often cited by the Fraser Institute will become an even greater reality for those in BC, especially when the Games are over and the bills pour in. The BC Liberals won't be able to blame an exodus of the skilled and educated on anyone but themselves.

I added this post later, after reading people's comments complaining about immigrants:

I have to add: blaming foreigners or immigrants is not the answer, but it seems to happen whenever people need a scapegoat. International students pay 3x the tuition of BC residents. I did not compete with any international students for my space at SFU, my application was judged by reference letter, CV, and academic merit only. Anyone who is familiar with Canadian immigration policy knows how difficult it is to get into this country independently without education. I have met a lot of office cleaners, taxi drivers, and security guards with graduate degrees from their home country -- they are not collecting welfare or taking advantage of social services, they work and pay into the system. Many immigrants are from countries where competition is survival, and they're just happy to have a job, so they'll take ones BC residents won't touch. It is in everyone's best interests to strive for a better economy -- no matter where you're from.