Students need tax breaks
NEW WESTMINSTER (CUP) -- With a surplus of over $11 billion, the government plans to use $10 billion of it to pay down the federal debt, and the rest going towards corporate tax cuts. This amounts to more than $14 billion over the next five years, while personal income tax cuts will be cut by some $46 billion. Together, with the GST being cut to five per cent, it will result in savings of $180 for families in the lowest tax bracket.
I'm impressed. Finally I'll be able to afford an entire college textbook. With that much money floating around Ottawa, giving post-secondary students a break in interest on their student loans wouldn't be too much to ask.
My cousin in Denmark completed her college education recently, with zero debt. She can start her working life with a clean slate while I, her lucky cousin, has to worry about the monthly student loan payments I'll have to start paying in a few weeks even though I've only completed half my degree.
You'll have to excuse me if I sound bitter, it's only because I am. It's not my fault life has thrown me a curve ball with a recurrent medical condition that has resulted in a number of withdrawals and unsuccessful terms at college.
I've recently exhausted all the appeals afforded to me through the student loans appeals committee. Don't get me wrong, I'm not feeling sorry for myself; all I want is to finish my Bachelors degree. And that's going to be difficult now that I have to pay the rest of my education working a part-time job, while I start repaying my $40,000 student loan because I don't have the funds to go to school full-time.
There are others who are in the same dire straits, and that's exactly why I it's appalling the government plans to use $10 billion to pay down their debts while thousands of college and university students sink deeper into their own.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
I'm impressed. Finally I'll be able to afford an entire college textbook. With that much money floating around Ottawa, giving post-secondary students a break in interest on their student loans wouldn't be too much to ask.
My cousin in Denmark completed her college education recently, with zero debt. She can start her working life with a clean slate while I, her lucky cousin, has to worry about the monthly student loan payments I'll have to start paying in a few weeks even though I've only completed half my degree.
You'll have to excuse me if I sound bitter, it's only because I am. It's not my fault life has thrown me a curve ball with a recurrent medical condition that has resulted in a number of withdrawals and unsuccessful terms at college.
I've recently exhausted all the appeals afforded to me through the student loans appeals committee. Don't get me wrong, I'm not feeling sorry for myself; all I want is to finish my Bachelors degree. And that's going to be difficult now that I have to pay the rest of my education working a part-time job, while I start repaying my $40,000 student loan because I don't have the funds to go to school full-time.
There are others who are in the same dire straits, and that's exactly why I it's appalling the government plans to use $10 billion to pay down their debts while thousands of college and university students sink deeper into their own.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
