Who Can Best Raise Your Children? II
December 11, 2005 · By kaqchikel
If you missed the “beer and pop corn” Liberal retort, you can find it here, care of Proud to Be Canadian. Liberals are so concerned with who “controls” our money!
It’s amazing that the very Liberals who were funnelling money out of the public purse in order illegally to finance their political campaigns in Quebec, suddenly seem worried about control for Canadians’ money. They are not too concerned, however, about controls on how they behave and spend the money Canadians earn, but they are rather keen in setting “controls” on how Canadians spend their own money. It’s pretty clear to see who the guys with the hidden agenda are.
The theory in liberal democracies is that people are in charge of their government and their representatives. Martinista Liberals believe that it should be the other way around.
Crossposted from Civitatensis.ca
Poor right-wingers. Don’t you realize that 70% of Canada does not agree with you? Your either a Conservative, or your not. Don’t be misled into thinking that only 35% of Canadians agree with Liberal policies - don’t forget that the NDP, Bloc, and Green Party are left of the Liberals. The only reason the Conservatives stand a chance is that we have a first-past-the-post electoral system. Take British Columbia for example with it’s majority of Conservative MPS, do you honestly think for a second that British Columbia is right-wing in any way? If anything, they are the most left of centre province possible. Only in the United States would the government come up with a plan to reduce the extremely important role that government plays in the lives of the people in their country. Thankfully 70% of Canadians agree with that.
Jason C: Does this mean that 70% of Canadians would spend their money on beer and popcorn instead of on their children?
If 70% of people are incapable of thinking for themselves and need the government to do it for them, then logically, shouldn’t they be denied suffrage?
The difference between the Liberals and the Conservatives on this topic is pretty obvious. The Conservative Party would like to provide a universal direct support to parents of children, and the Liberals a system support to improve childcare.
And while the “beer and popcorn” comment was pretty poor taste, it does get to the root of the philosophical differences each party has on this topic.
The Liberals believe that their plan is better, because they believe they will get more bang for the investment if it goes into a universal childcare system. This way, only those using the system will benefit from the investment. So, if your goal is to use money efficiently, and ensure that they government investment is being used for its intended purpose, then the Liberals are right.
The Conservatives, on the other hand, believe that direct supports are better, because it gives Canadians more choice (i.e. daycare, stay at home, etc.). If more choice is the intended purpose of the investment, then the Conservatives are right.
So, what it boils down to is what is the intended purpose of the investment.
There is one thing that is sorely missing in this debate.
There is already a very generous direct support program for all Canadians with children in Canada. It is called the Canada Child Tax Benefit, and for lower-income Canadians there is the National Child Benefit. Both of these supports are direct supports to Canadians that provide extra funds to parents, regardless of whether they stay at home, or do not. Nobody has asked how this program would be affected with the introduction of a new childcare program (direct or indirect).
The difference between the Liberal and Conservative positions is that the Conservatives support children, while the Liberals support Daycare.
The Conservatives may spin their proposal as “supporting children”, but in actuality, it is financial support for parents with children under the age of six (i.e. those children young enough to require daycare, because they are not in the public school system yet), you just need to follow to proposed money trail. The government of Canada would send a cheque to parents of children, not to children themselves, since, a 3 year old would not be able to actually spend it on his/her own childcare costs. I am neither for or against this proposal, but at least be honest about where the funding goes.
The National Child Benefit and the Canada Child Tax Benefit both go to parents of children. These monies are meant to help families cover the additional child related expenses parents face.
Low-Income Families receive up to $204 / month for their first child, and an additional $187 / month for each additional child.
Middle income families recieve less, but basically get $95 / month per child.
Families with income above $79,000 recieve no benefits.
The Conservative plan will provide every parent with a similar sum of money. Less, for low-income families, the same for middle income families, and substantially more for high-income families (i.e. more than nothing).
Here are a few more questions for your thoughts?Do high-income families really need this support? Couldn’t their $100 a month be given to low-income families to make their childcare contribution actually worth something?
You raise good points, Lyndon, and this is an illustration of what this really is - grandstanding, not construction of ingenious social institutions.
Something else I’m curious about - why is the cut-off age for financial support or daycare subsidy so much lower than the age at which children are legally allowed to be left unsupervised? Most parents work more hours than schools are open for.
This has been said before, but I think the childcare debate really highlights the different philosophies of the Conservative and Liberal parties. Choice vs. goverment mandated programs.
What would be the result if all the money the Liberals are promising for daycare was invested in the Conservative plan? Probably a lot more private daycares competing for your childcare money. Or parents might actually be able to afford to stay at home to care for kids if that was their choice.
I think most people would rather have their children with a relative or friend than at a public daycare.