There's something to be said for the idea that a person can only vote when they pay taxes, or better yet, when they net positive contribution to Revenue Canada.

All Nanny, All the time:

http://www.leadnow.ca/en/declaration

Chip,

Yes, a "no representation without taxation" kind of thing....

I like this from the comments:

"To complain about the media not covering "the issues"' when you can go to any of the parties' websites and access their full platforms is like complaining that Sesame Street doesn't run enough hard news. TV is about entertainment. News stories are selected for interest not newsworthiness. If it bleeds it leads is a much bigger problem than "name calling"

pretty much describes ALL broadcasters (eventually) since the early days of the kinescope.

oops. belongs in previous post. ah well, point made.

From the Landmark report, photos of the University of Guelph special poll:

http://landmarkreport.com/andrew/2011/04/photos-from-the-guelph-poll-scandal/

Looking at the lefty signs (Liberal, NDP, Green) in my neighbourhood today (there ARE fewer than usual) I was just thinking about this myself: if the “redistribute the wealth” camp followers on our campuses get what they think they want in this election, methinks they’re in for a pretty rude awakening:

Sooner, rather than later, these starry-eyed airheads will be dealing with massive student debts to pay off, low level jobs with short term contracts, with few to no benefits, crumbling infrastructures, old folks—all those baby boomers—spending a huge share of our health care $$, onerous greenie regulations that will put up the price of everything our young folks like—food, computers, eating out, gas for their cars, travel, etc.: they LOVE energy consuming technology and all its perqs—wasted tax $$ on pet lefty causes, a few other Adscam-like political “deals”, like giving in to Quebec’s never ending financial blackmail—that’s what lefties DO—and the whole raft of ways a leftist government will tax and spend—recklessly.

Before long, these misguided idealists will be regretting their youthful folly. Maybe then, it will be too late. Too bad, guys and gals!

Trying to make voting "cool". When I was younger, whenever they tried to do that it was decidedly uncool.

I don't know what kind of person that makes you, if you need some kind of gimmick social activity to get you out to vote.

@lookout

The misguided idealists, once they become part of the ruling class of leftists, will resort to taxing heavily our retirement income. Mark my words.

Oh come on, Kate! They're all Social Science majors. They won't have jobs and won't be able to pay the taxes that will be needed to pay down the debt. It's not fair.

Yeah, but they won't be getting the cheques they were promised, either!

Lookout,

Not a problem, they'll just vote to raise the minimum wage....problem solved....

Boomer generation, all entitled all the time. Screw the kids!

Hey, Jack Layton! #Votemob...the true hashtag fail.

It would have been better if he would have said 'epic fail' in the debate. At least, it would have certainly satisfied me in the 'lulz' department.

Apparently, there were 700 votes cast at the illegal (?) polling station on the U of G campus. That looks to me to be about the same number of people in the "mob" that's prancing around encouraging students to vote.

I must admit, this is a pretty crafty ruse, devised no doubt by the campus "Young Liberals Club". I sure hope Sun Media gets to the bottom of this. I would be nice to see just who cast their votes there and whether and, if so, how many, are card carrying members of the desperate parties.

I have no trouble with Yutes voting and being encouraged to do so. ANd even in this kind of a format....as long as it is done according to the rules. Rules/laws you know those things that govern society and ensure elections are free and fair and not just MOBrule.

They finally figured it out ... young socialists cannot figure out how to vote until someone organizes a voting collective for them.

We are doomed.

I believe that it is a good thing that young people are becoming politically aware and are taking the opportunity to vote. The problem is, I think most are voting because it is this weeks cool thing to do and to be in the in crowd. I doubt whether very many have actually done any research into the party platforms and are simply voting the way their friend did. This likely just another fad like tramp stamps, backwards ball caps and pants down past your a**. Rick Mercer should wait to see the longer term results before he pats himself on the back to much.

Fast forward 30 years, the scene will not be pretty.

@Al_the_Fish

Michael Harris on @CFRAOttawa just said that getting young people to vote, even by #votemob, is better than nothing. Unreal.

Obviously, those damning photos don't bother liberals one iota.

Sickening bias from this broadcaster, every effing day. I swear that he single-handedly balances out CFRA's output.

The something for nothing folks will realize their dreams...problem is that input will equal output.

I think they should raise the voting age to 35.

And you had to pay more than $100,000 in taxes over the last five years.

And you can't have a degree in the humanities.

And oh yeah, no "cat" people.

If they get their way it'll be "every man for himself" soon enough.

The "votemob" mentality suggests to me that these people are not adult enough to vote. Can you just imagins such silliness coming from adults? I think Michael Harris has lost it -- I really think people should NOT vote if they are not paying attention to the issues. In Hitler's day, youth were running around helping to burn books. That was a similar "mob" mentality.

@LindaL

Harris is worth a listen on matters of justice and victims rights, however. He's a rarity on the left as someone who doesn't think of criminals as victims of society.

Boomer generation, all entitled all the time. Screw the kids!
Posted by: the bear at April 18, 2011 12:51 PM

Hey bear ? My 1st job was hopping at the Sonic-Drive In at 12 years old, I have paid into Social Security for 45 years and Medicare for 25. Why don't you ask the Gummint what the hell they did with my money. And, besides, last I checked, it's a retirement program, not an entitlement. Well, I guess if your a minority it is, or you have 5 kids by 5 different men, or your an illegal, or you get certified as a nutcase, or you fake injury, or you bloc-vote Democrat.

It ain't the boomers who put our Grandkids in debt, it was #$%&*$# Barry, Reid and Pelosi.

Now, get your butt out there and get a job, one that is gona take care of my retirement for me.

Thanks in advance.
,

"Fast forward 30 years, the scene will not be pretty"

30MONTHS, if we're lucky.

I think youth should be encouraged to vote and get involved in politics. Don't assume all youth vote liberal/ndp/green because it's not the case and even if it is who cares.

I give a Ratt's a$$, boomers in Canada haven't paid your fair share yet. I'm paying thier frickin' debt, self entitled whiners.

"I think youth should be encouraged to vote and get involved in politics"

I don't think that anyone is suggesting otherwise.

However, circumventing rules and regulations in order to make it more "convenient" to cast a vote is just wrong. We have to walk a block or two to the polling station, present some ID and put an X on a ballot. What could be more convenient? Contrast this to some countries where voters stand in line for hours hoping like hell that a bomb doesn't go off or a truck with a 50 cal. mounted in the back doesn't do a drive-by shooting.

Lets have a cross country campaign! 'Don't hire a Guelph Graduate'.

"I think youth should be encouraged to vote and get involved in politics"

I don't think that anyone is suggesting otherwise.

I am. While I would not go as far as rabbit, who would destroy my ability to vote on all counts (which would at least save me a pointless dutiful gesture, so there's that), idiots, overaged children and the chronically brainwashed should stay home and toke up and not be encouraged to get involved in serious matters.

White dudes with dreadlocks should not be allowed to vote. Or anything else except work on chain gangs.

Mob democracy was the end of Greek democracy.

leadnow.ca server is in Seattle, Washington

http://geo.flagfox.net/?ip=50.16.233.102&host=www.leadnow.ca

RATT(this is written in the Canadian context, I can’t speak specifically to American Pensions)

"Thanks in advance."

Here's where conservatives become hypocrites. You my friend(and I) have been the victim of a Ponzi scheme, similar to that of those who've been enticed to invest in solar panels for their homes, called the Canada Pension Plan. When the solar panel people are now being told they cannot "hook-up to the grid" by the very government that enticed them to “invest” in the first place, we get on SDA and laugh and say "buyer beware" and all of that stuff; but, as soon as it's YOUR entitlements at risk the Baby Boomers forget all about that “Austerity” thing they preach to the youts. The bottom-line is, the money your generation paid-in is clearly not enough considering the # of babies your generation had, and the $$ you'll be taking-out. Period! Now, on the individual basis, I can see how you'd argue that you "paid your share" but I can assure you that you'll be 'means tested' in the future and be told “you don't need CPP” if you actually HAVE paid your own way; so you're fcuked either way.

It is my view that we should end this Ponzi scheme called Canada Pension immediately!!! I'm 36 and I've already paid into a fund that I was told in high school (90's) would not be there for me, by my Boomer teachers. Boomers knew 20 years ago that CP was not sustainable, yet did nothing about it. I will not be crying “foul” in 30 years when there is no CP to draw upon. I’m crying “foul” now, and begrudgingly paying. I’m not a scoundrel!

This generational debate is the big debate going forward. Unfortunately, the lack of austerity from the Boomer generation and their alleged ties to conservatism has tarnished the brand for young voters. Ironically, the biggest spenders of all comprise 60%+ of the Tea Party, when they are the ones breaking the bank today and going forward.

Politically we've got a big mess where the "big spenders" are now moving their votes to the conservative parties and the alternative is to vote for the socialists. IMO it's socialists to the Left and the Right in reality.

Finally, it's hard to blame the youts for their ignorance today, considering they are VICTIMS in an education system has been reduced to a socialist indoctrination institution; designed and run by the Boomer generation. Boomers have created exactly what they desired with our broken public education system. A system that graduates a bunches of socialist drones that wish nothing more than to pay into the social programs that the Boomers will suck dry. A system that guarantees higher wages, benefits and seniority for Boomers regardless of their worth. A system for the “ME” generation; because after all, once ME’s are gone, the ME’s got nothing to worry about.

Well, student loan debts are entirely their own
doing. "Free money", and the little suckers take it
like sunfish chomping down a worm.
Typically these debts are around $50,000. The more
intelligent students feel the hook even before they graduate.
One girl that my wife and I knew a little
had amassed the grand total of $100,000 in student loan debt!

lookout

"Sooner, rather than later, these starry-eyed airheads will be dealing with massive student debts to pay off..."

They will, it's the natural order of things. The question I pose above is: what's the excuse for the Boomers?

"Before long, these misguided idealists will be regretting their youthful folly. Maybe then, it will be too late. Too bad, guys and gals!"

Whether it's the Boomers, Gen X,Y of the Ipod generation we should be all afforded this period of Naivety. The problem is, as I've outlined above, that conservatives seem to now be shifting the burden of responsibility to the youts; expecting them to "know better or else" because the Boomers who never grew-up have basically absorbed all of the slack in the political/economic rope. It's too bad that its dependant on the yout's to grow-up else risk losing everything.

Maybe someone should tell the kids that only grown-ups can vote.

Take away their cell phones, iPods and have mummy and daddy cut them off. Watch the "enthusiasm" of "fun voting" dry up.

A mouth full of "gimme", and a hand full of "much obliged". Parasites all.

Then it was hippies, now its votemobs. Nothing changes.

James @ 3:03: "I think youth should be encouraged to vote and get involved in politics. Don't assume all youth vote liberal/ndp/green because it's not the case and even if it is who cares."

Really?

Really, James, “whatever” is not good enough.

Read NO HIDDEN AGENDAS by Kelly McParland at the National Post:

“Though neither could be called a fun read, the platforms recently released by the Liberals and Conservatives are deeply revealing. Nobody could work their way through these two documents and claim not to know what the parties are about. . . .

“It’s two very different views. . . .

“You didn’t need a debate to figure out what these parties are about. It’s right there in black and white. It’s a distinct choice, and an important one.”

http://digital.nationalpost.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

I broke the news to my university bound son about who will pay off our national debt (him and his generation).

He was speechless.

I hope this new knowledge arms him for when he ventures into the group-think socialist gauntlet of university.

Hey, didn't I read a book about this type of silliness named Extra Ordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Mobs?

No wait, it was the Madness of Crowds.

Oh well, same thing.

Beginning in 2013, Boomers are going to retire in growing numbers up until about 2030. They expect to sell their half-million dollar homes to each other, in order to lavish their lifestyles.

Gen X'ers are being squeezed for more taxes, Gen Y's (Millennial's) are demanding more entitlements...what can possibly go wrong?

Everyone loves a whiner Indiana Homez. You might consider kicking your grampa in the nuts and spitting in your gramma's face ... they are the one's that propelled this nonsense.

BTW: You might consider reading some of Churchill's works ... this lunacy had it roots well before the first boomer was born.

leadnow.ca server is in Seattle, Washington

http://geo.flagfox.net/?ip=50.16.233.102&host=www.leadnow.ca
------------------------------------------

No surprise there. You only have to look in the 'About' section of the LeadNow website, where it plainly states: "This model was pioneered by organizations like MoveOn (USA), GetUp (Australia), 38 Degrees (UK), and Avaaz (Global)"

It also makes clear that it is NOT a Canadian movement by stating: "We hope to bring some of the best of these organizing techniques to Canada"

So how do we let theise naive University students know they are being punked by an uber-leftist organization?

And would they even care?

This is far older than the boomers. It has been repeated many times.

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years."
— Alexis de Tocqueville 1805 - 1859

No one actually thought this movement just popped up out of nowhere did they? Most students don't have the time or inclination, especially in the middle of exams to organize anything this size. As No Guff points out, this was well thought out, tried and tested in the US for the Obama campaign. Funded by billionaire socialist George Soros through Move On.org and it's offshoots

There are ridings where this sham vote could make the difference between a Liberal or a Conservative win, which in this close election could mean another minority Parliament and another vote in less than a year. A guaranteed 700 or more votes for one party is a lot of votes in some ridings. I haven't checked but it would be interesting to see last elections vote count and the margin of difference between the candidates in the Guelph riding that contains the University of Guelph. The people sponsoring know just what they're doing. They've got to get the campus vote in before student's year end next week when they head for home. Right now they've got a captive audience ripe for propaganda.

And who's to say they aren't registered and on the voter's list in their home riding with all the possibilities that entails?

If the Conservatives tried this in the last election as some journalists claim and were shut down, why weren't the Liberals shut down this time. Could it possibly be bias at Elections Canada? No! Are you kidding? Bias? Can't be.

"Everyone loves a whiner Indiana Homez. You might consider kicking your grampa in the nuts and spitting in your gramma's face ... they are the one's that propelled this nonsense."

I'm not whining! I'm saying stop CPP in its tracks. Something wrong with that?

Perhaps it's your reading comprehension that's the problem. I clearly said that it's both our generations that have been hoodwinked by the Ponzi scheme called CPP. Read much?

My beef is with Boomer's who know damn well that they've been paying-in to the scheme and wish to propagate the scheme further at all costs. Not very conservative!

If you can make an intellectual argument vs. my points then have at it. Right now we're all suckers, you just can't admit it.

M Kenny, your math is off. Summer 1945 plus 9 months plus 65 years equals Spring 2011. The Boomers have already started turning 65.

Indiana Homez, the only way a sudden change is going to occur with the pension system is if it collapses entirely, which is the certain result if nothing is changed beforehand. Getting out of the pension mess has to be a gradual process if it is to be salvaged at all.

We need to gradually increase the age at which one can draw a full pension. If the average person is projected to live to age 79, then full pension should be set at 80. So, starting in 2013 (gotta give people time to argue it out and get used to the idea) raise the age to 66, then raise it by one year every odd year - to 67 in 2015, 68 in 2017 and so on until by 2041 one cannot retire with full pension until age 80.

This is just a first-order approximation of the solution. I am not an actuary, so I'm pulling numbers out of the air. The numbers might work out that a more gradual change is possible. If I live long enough I won't turn 80 until 2048, but if something like this is done at least I'll be able to collect a pension then. And so would you soon after that.

Thanks Ed for some insightful comments.