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From: jimr@hcrvx2.UUCP (Jim Robinson)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: Who pays for education - knee jerk reactions
Message-ID: <2786@hcrvx2.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 6-Mar-87 17:14:04 EST
Article-I.D.: hcrvx2.2786
Posted: Fri Mar  6 17:14:04 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Mar-87 06:38:43 EST
References: <224@fornax.uucp>
Reply-To: jimr@hcrvx2.UUCP (Jim Robinson)
Distribution: can
Organization: HCR Corporation, Toronto
Lines: 44
Summary: 

In article <224@fornax.uucp> chapman@fornax.uucp (John Chapman) writes:
>If a child only kept company with me as long as I lavished $$ on her/him
>and showed no appreciation I would consider them a spoiled brat.  I'm
>not sure what you can say about adults who want to be able to behave
>in the same manner.

Unless John's plan is retroactive I would have neither anything to gain
nor to lose because of it. I also have no expectations of the
government lavishing me with anything. What I do have is a belief in a
couple of principles: namely that education is a *right*, and emigrants
should not be penalized because they no longer consider their future to
be in their homeland. 

It is useful to realize that there are other reasons for leaving ones
homeland than the potential for earning bigger bucks. E.g., family
reunification, greater career opportunities (which does not necessarily
mean more money), and/or a political climate more in tune with the
individual's way of thinking. Requiring a person to pay a tax in order
to rejoin his loved ones seems like an amazingly petty maneuver to me,
yet is exactly what would happen under John's plan.

At any rate, the bottom line here is that a would-be emigrant has to
buy his way out of the country. A situation that I, coming from a
family of immigrants, find extremely distasteful.

It is also interesting to consider the fact that immigration is part of
the fabric of Canadian society. This country *encourages* people from
all over the world to come here to live. Very often these immigrants
are educated  people. Thus, it seems hypocritical to me that on the one
hand Canada should encourage such people to come here, yet on the other
hand would (under John's plan) discourage, by way of a tax, emigration
of the same educated type of people.

>can make more money??  If they like these other places so much let
>them go and try to get a cheap education "there".

Ever heard of "America, love it or leave it!" The above statement (not
to mention the whole idea idea behind an emigration tax) reminds me of
that little piece of American jingoism. I think I'll take what's behind
door number 3, thank you.

J.B. Robinson