Youth Voters in Canada Fighting the Apathy Label
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Vote Mob Time! UVic and McMaster
Vote mob at the University of Victoria:
Coverage of the McMaster University vote mob on CBC's The National:
Also, this. I have no idea what it is, and I'm not sure whether or not to be amused.
Coverage of the McMaster University vote mob on CBC's The National:
Also, this. I have no idea what it is, and I'm not sure whether or not to be amused.
Looking Deeper
One of my favourite things about being a student is having all of these people, in a very small geographic area, learning about and becoming specialists in all sorts of different things. And then whenever you talk to people, they're all coming at the issue from very different perspectives and backgrounds.
"I'm actually not a fan of the Liberal platform," a friend of mine, majoring in Global Development Studies, mentioned recently. "It's so focused on numbers and money. A lot of social problems just can't be reduced to the economics of it."
I pointed out that the government's job is basically to allocate resources, so the money side of things is really all they can look at, beside making or changing laws. She shrugged.
"I just don't like this focus on the deficit. I feel like they're going to end up cutting programs that provide a lot of good services to communities. You know who's platform is really well thought out? The Green Party."
Fair enough.
Another friend, a business student, told me, "I was reading the Liberal platform, and I wasn't very impressed. They're so focused on getting rid of this deficit, they want to get rid of it too soon. Carrying a deficit isn't necessarily a bad thing. We're so used to hearing about the deficit in the 90's, which shouldn't have happened because our economy was in a good place. But when the economy is doing badly, being leveraged gives you a lot more flexibility."
She explained that worrying about keeping a balanced budget in tough economic times makes you afraid to spend, and the government should spend because it's easier for it to take a hit and go into deficit than it is for individuals to go into debt due to losing their jobs or not having the same social programs.
"The Conservatives are promising to get rid of it sooner," I said.
She rolled her eyes. "Their economic policy has always been for less tax, less spending, and whatever sounds good to the average person, who is not a trained economist. They're pandering to get the votes."
This post isn't intended to be for or against any particular party. I just want to encourage you to approach the party platforms critically, and talk about them with people who are coming from a completely different perspective. Discussion is healthy!
"I'm actually not a fan of the Liberal platform," a friend of mine, majoring in Global Development Studies, mentioned recently. "It's so focused on numbers and money. A lot of social problems just can't be reduced to the economics of it."
I pointed out that the government's job is basically to allocate resources, so the money side of things is really all they can look at, beside making or changing laws. She shrugged.
"I just don't like this focus on the deficit. I feel like they're going to end up cutting programs that provide a lot of good services to communities. You know who's platform is really well thought out? The Green Party."
Fair enough.
Another friend, a business student, told me, "I was reading the Liberal platform, and I wasn't very impressed. They're so focused on getting rid of this deficit, they want to get rid of it too soon. Carrying a deficit isn't necessarily a bad thing. We're so used to hearing about the deficit in the 90's, which shouldn't have happened because our economy was in a good place. But when the economy is doing badly, being leveraged gives you a lot more flexibility."
She explained that worrying about keeping a balanced budget in tough economic times makes you afraid to spend, and the government should spend because it's easier for it to take a hit and go into deficit than it is for individuals to go into debt due to losing their jobs or not having the same social programs.
"The Conservatives are promising to get rid of it sooner," I said.
She rolled her eyes. "Their economic policy has always been for less tax, less spending, and whatever sounds good to the average person, who is not a trained economist. They're pandering to get the votes."
This post isn't intended to be for or against any particular party. I just want to encourage you to approach the party platforms critically, and talk about them with people who are coming from a completely different perspective. Discussion is healthy!
Student News
Students at McMaster participated in a flash mob that was allowed into a Conservative rally. True story. "The fact that they let us in today represents that they are listening, they're aware of the student vote," said one of the organizers. Yay student power!
Some people are upset advance polling coincides with Easter weekend. "It's the sheer stupidity of it," says one lady. Personally I think it's genius. Lots of students are going to be heading back to their hometowns for the weekend, whether or not they celebrate Easter, so it's the ideal time to vote in your home riding if you choose to do so!
Some people are upset advance polling coincides with Easter weekend. "It's the sheer stupidity of it," says one lady. Personally I think it's genius. Lots of students are going to be heading back to their hometowns for the weekend, whether or not they celebrate Easter, so it's the ideal time to vote in your home riding if you choose to do so!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
I wish this meant tuition cuts, but I don't think it does
Transcript:
We all know the best way to ensure our kids get good jobs in the future, is to give them a great education today...but a university or community college education can be expensive. That's why the Liberal Plan will put four thousand dollars in a post-secondary savings fund for every high school student in the country. That's our message to young Canadians:
if you get the grades, you get to go. That's the Canada we want. That's the Canada you deserve.
Campaign Update--April 7
Bah. I don't have time to write several nice long thoughtful posts today, because I Work Hard for My Tuition. So instead here's a couple of quick hits.
Stephen Harper finally apologized to the people who have been booted out of Conservative rallies, saying, "If anybody is kept out of any of our events that is there to hear our message, we obviously apologize to them. Our interest is in having as many people out to hear our message as we can. We are having huge meetings, we had another huge one last night. And we want people to hear our message." Personally, I prefer this headline.
Why am I not surprised that John Baird doesn't know what a flash mob is? The Conservative MP told reporters that "I'm not sure what a flash mob is but it sounds a bit disconcerting."
Apparently, happy people are more likely to vote than unhappy people. This might explain some additional things about low youth voter turnout.
The NDP is committed to fighting crime, particularly gang violence, in a prevent-crime-by-giving-people-something-constructive-to-do way rather than in a build-mega-prisons-and-increase-minimum-sentences way.
Read this awesome article about what happens when you exclude young people who are trying to get involved in politics.
Stephen Harper finally apologized to the people who have been booted out of Conservative rallies, saying, "If anybody is kept out of any of our events that is there to hear our message, we obviously apologize to them. Our interest is in having as many people out to hear our message as we can. We are having huge meetings, we had another huge one last night. And we want people to hear our message." Personally, I prefer this headline.
Why am I not surprised that John Baird doesn't know what a flash mob is? The Conservative MP told reporters that "I'm not sure what a flash mob is but it sounds a bit disconcerting."
Apparently, happy people are more likely to vote than unhappy people. This might explain some additional things about low youth voter turnout.
The NDP is committed to fighting crime, particularly gang violence, in a prevent-crime-by-giving-people-something-constructive-to-do way rather than in a build-mega-prisons-and-increase-minimum-sentences way.
Read this awesome article about what happens when you exclude young people who are trying to get involved in politics.
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