I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way….

We learn from the past. We fix the mistakes of our ancestors (we hope). We study, we develop, we grow… and then we hand what we have learned on to our children in the hopes that they can have a better life and in turn, pass those benefits on to future generations.

Without delving into Climate Change or economic struggles or any of the many ‘-isms’ that continue to plague the human race, the people of earth generally agree that we would like to improve our lot in life, and by extension, the lives of future people. How do we do that? Education.

There’s a really good reason that education became a free and mandatory public offering. Society understood that by educating children they would learn the skills to become good workers and good citizens. People hoped that education would bring about a more just and equitable society.

Nothing about that has changed. Education is necessary for young people to come together and discuss the issues before them, and to attempt to anticipate what issues may face them after they leave public school.

But here’s the thing… education is what your financial advisor would call a Long Term Investment. It isn’t house flipping, or a quick franchise that is a licence to print money. It is a low interest GIC or RSP that you put a small amount into every year, so that many years later, you have something of which you are really proud. Something that will look after you in your old age.

If quality educations become available only at private schools, well, it isn’t difficult to see where that can lead. The wealthy will have the knowledge and therefore, the power. They can, (and they will), do what is in their best interests, whether that happens to be beneficial to the rest of the population or not.

So, ask yourself, if you have to pay taxes for education to be free and accessible to all in an equitable manner, don’t you want your personal taxes to offer you and your children as good an education as the wealthy kids? If you answer yes, (and I sure hope you do), then you have got to put in the long term investment. And you definitely cannot skip any payments.