A recent piece took issue with the proposals in Tim O’Neill’s report on Nova Scotia universities (“Class war in class,” Editorial by Bruce Wark, September 30). It claimed that the report’s recommendations, if adopted, would unjustly reinforce the “economic class structure” and push schools closer to becoming mere degree factories.
It begins with a lament about universities being reduced to peddling a degree as a marketable commodity—a financial investment designed to return on money spent. But we must remember our audience—this report was written to address the state of our universities in the midst of “emerging financial and demographic challenges.”
In short, this is about brass tacks. How are we going to keep these schools solvent?
O’Neill’s recommendation is to allow tuition fees to be whatever the market will bear—as opposed to the current price ceiling. He justifies his position by saying it is unfair for poor and middle-class taxpayers to subsidize the children of the wealthy who attend in disproportionate numbers. To which the author responds by suggesting that a better solution would be to subsidize education by increasing income taxes.
The problem with this solution is two-fold. Firstly, Nova Scotians already pay the highest income tax in the nation, a fact which saps our standard of living and our ability to attract and keep high earners. People respond to incentives, and this is a strong one to stay away.
Secondly, this transfer would not be simply from the rich to students. Since a large number of students come from outside of the province, paying for lower tuition with higher taxes would burden local taxpayers with the cost of educating those who come to study and then leave.
The benefits of a university education are numerous, varied and significant and, like in anything else, those who benefit should have to pay the cost.
—Gerald Walsh, Halifax
This article appears in Oct 7-13, 2010.
It would be nice to know the source of your claim that Nova Scotians pay “the highest income tax in the nation.” Comparisons are not easy as this table shows: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/fq/txrt… For example, are Quebec’s rates higher or lower than ours? http://www.revenu.gouv.qc.ca/en/citoyen/im…
Your argument that higher income taxes affect our ability “to attract and keep high earners” overlooks other factors such as overall cost of living and the availability of desirable jobs. Halifax, for example, has a lower cost of living than Toronto or Vancouver, even with higher income tax rates. And our taxes support many high-paying jobs in the public sector.
Out-of-province students pay significantly more to attend Nova Scotia universities than our own students do. http://www.anssa.ca/content/press-releases… “Students from out of province pay a higher price for education than their Nova Scotian classmates, amounting to a differential fee of $1,022 this year.” And it’s important to assess what economic benefits those out-of-province bring to Nova Scotia. It has been calculated, for example, that international students spend $2.68 here for every government dollar invested in them by provincial governments in this region: http://www.gov.ns.ca/news/details.asp?id=2…
Finally, your claim that income taxes sap our standard of living ignores the fact that the public sector, supported by taxes, is a major sector of the Atlantic economy. See Atlantic Provinces Economic Council Report released on August 26/10: “The council says federal jobs are highly paid, with an average 2009 salary in the Atlantic region of $69,500, and the Atlantic provinces rely heavily on these jobs.” (Herald)
I’d also like to point out that the real beneficiaries of highly educated university graduates is society. By the commenters logic, it is society that should bear that cost.