universal student allowances

yay, after 10 years or more of lobbying we are being promised universal student allowances....

to all my friends who have worked hard for this small victory congrats.... we have finally done it.a

I have been a student, I have over $35000 of student debt.... thanks to Labour it hasn't actually gotten any bigger for a while, but when I first took my loan out it was earning interest faster than I was borrowing it.

It always seemed unfair to me that if i did nothing I would get the dole but if I tried to improve myself I had to borrow money to live. and to just clarify in case people think i am just a middle class person, when I was studying my mum was too, and my wee sister was at school, so dads income supported us all.....

I read a response to a blog on this and they said it was just helping out middle income earners, but why should you be dependent on your parents income till 25... and why as a parent should they have to support us financially till that age if we are studying, always seemed a bit loopy to me.

I am also pleased about it because it will mean a better start for my three children, b and i really value education be it university polytech or trade, therefore we will want our children to have the opportunities that we had. I don't want to see my children with the level of debt that B and I started out with, over $60000 between us was not good. I especially don't want my girls to have the debt I have as it does impact more on women than on men, due to higher wage earnings of men, and to women taking time out to be caregivers to family.

So bravo to labour for annoucing this policy.... makes me even more determined to help return a labour led government.