tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888848804347928571.post2993190556426978953..comments2024-02-25T06:41:19.588+00:00Comments on Conor's Commentary: A graduate tax would be a mistakeConor Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457628816008082005noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888848804347928571.post-45595407131402384682010-07-15T22:59:12.521+01:002010-07-15T22:59:12.521+01:00Paul - just because you disagree with me doesn'...Paul - just because you disagree with me doesn't mean your solution is more progressive. In fact, the current system doesn't require any payment until a graduate is earning £15k a year, whereas a graduate tax would probably kick in sooner. So let's cut the holier than thou stuff. Is it right wing to worry about leading innovators and intellectuals going abroad? I think not. As someone who worked on Labour's higher education policy in opposition and Government, I have looked in great detail at the graduate tax compared with the current system. It is no more progressive but would hurt our universities and make them less competitive. Incidentally, as someone who has co-authored a pamphlet for a leading Lib Dem think tank, I'm not sure tribalist is the word you're looking for. Perhaps, you mean realist.Conor Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457628816008082005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888848804347928571.post-21167524116121448572010-07-15T20:04:16.747+01:002010-07-15T20:04:16.747+01:00Do students get a good deal? One could argue it i...Do students get a good deal? One could argue it is people like me, who went to university fifteen or more years ago, who paid no fees and got grants too, who got the good deal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888848804347928571.post-22164647394147429422010-07-15T16:46:28.032+01:002010-07-15T16:46:28.032+01:00I find it amusing that you have a banner celebrati...I find it amusing that you have a banner celebrating your labour and left of centre credentials, then proceed to attack the lib dems with a bunch of right wing tropes (brain drain, unfair taxes on the rich, etc).<br /><br />I think I'll use your blog post as the basis for one of my own - to establish the inherent <em>fairness</em> of a graduate tax, to extend the argument put forward by Stuart White at Next Left re the battle for the interpretation of "liberal" in the Lib Dems, and the way in which Labour tribalism blinds people to good suggestions. So cheers for the inspiration.<br /><br />Oh, by the way, I'm a member of the Labour Party...Paul Sagarhttp://badconscience.comnoreply@blogger.com