I will admit that some people do get more conservative as they get older, cautious might even be a better description. I only have to look at my siblings to see that. Then again, some of us get more radical. I will also admit to telling my daughter that she is okay being a Marxist because she had plenty if time to modify her position as she got older. Obviously, platitudes don't work at getting people out to vote. Monetary incentives and legal sanctions aren't a solution either. Education, and systemic reform of the electoral system might help.

• 11 weeks ago

You don't vote and nothing will ever change. Posting your complaints on a forum such as this doesn't influence anyone. If you want to change things, you have to vote. If you really want to change things you have to join a political party and work for the change you want. Your position is simply laziness clothed in self-righteousness.

• 11 weeks ago

You guess retired life is boring!!! I am retired, and I am not bored. I made the time to vote because I have been around long enough to know that when I don't vote we will end up with a government that will cause no end of damage to my lifestyle and what I want from my society. I also note that you have stated that the younger people are the progressive demographic. Another generalization that is without substance. Young people who don't have the time or patience do deal with a long drawn out voting process may find themselves with nothing but time when the economy is mismanaged to the point of destruction and the social safety net is in tatters because right wing economic policies such as those espoused by Milton Friedman. Unemployment is much more boring than retirement.

• 11 weeks ago

Clearly we are in a catch-22 situation here. Because government is trying to cut its costs related to education, educational institutions then opt to solicit funding from anyone with the ability to make a donation. Unfortunately, corporations are in a position to make large donations and reap the public relations and tax benefits from these. Unions, (where this discussion began), don't have access to large pools of capital, nor do the many other organizations who do what they can because they feel it is the right thing to do. By the same token, they generally aren't able to reap a tax benefit from their generosity. We are in complete agreement that right wing politicians do not value education. One only needs to look back to Mike Harris' regeime in Ontario. If it wasn't reading writing and arithmetic, it was not needed. The educational system in this province is still paying the price for that mismanagement. We are in agreement that this problem will not be alleviated by the right, it is an issue that will only be dealt with by a progressive government.

• 11 weeks ago

Further to my above comments, the National offices of trade unions are also supportive of education in this country. It is also a policy of the CAW, including at the national level, to support education. (e.g. at McMaster University for one).
I would also like to clarify that I was not intending to sound like I was going off on WilliamOntario . Education funding and corporate interference is one of my hot button issues...

• 12 weeks ago