Thursday 15 July 2010

Graduate Tax

Another thing for us students to moan about.

I can't quite decide whether I think graduate tax would be a good or a bad thing. On one hand the money for universities has to come from somewhere, on the other hand it would be nice not to be paying out for university all the time.

What really bothers me about paying for university is the fact that for the next 10 + years of my life I'm pretty much tied to the NHS. So I'm paying lots of money, to learn how to do a job, to then work for a government organisation.

This isn't too bad in itself.

What makes this bad is the fact that I'm starting to feel hard done by. I have more than 1 friend who hasn't gone to university and has had a baby. Now that these friends are single parents to young children they can't afford childcare so instead stay home on benefits. These friends live in nicer houses and flats than me, can afford sky TV and seem to spend a couple of nights a week either getting takeaways or out drinking.

I feel that I'm being penalised for wanting to do a job that will help people. If I'd decided to have a baby and stay home I could be curling up on my new sofa, watching sky on my 37" TV.

I know it's controversial to say this, and I'm sure that there are people on benefits who not only deserve them, but spend them wisely... but the more people I talk to the less that seems true.

I'd be happy to pay a graduate tax if I didn't see other people get handouts without having to put any effort into life.

Perhaps if the government only gave benefits to those who needed it, and then made sure they weren't giving money out to be spent on sky TV and nights out clubbing, then they'd have more money for education.

Lily xXx

2 comments:

Sefkhet said...

My problem is that we're already paying a graduate tax -- our student loan repayments are taken as a 9% tax hike. And that financial penalties on students and graduates are *still* being imposed by people who never paid a penny towards their higher education.

And that I wasn't voting for this when I voted Lib Dem.

Fuddled Medic said...

I have observed that this type of thinking leads medical students into voting for the conservative party.