EMA

Forgot to blog yesterday, so today shall be a day of the double-blog. Isn't that exciting!

This morning I want to talk about EMA. Being a human being with opinions and such like, I will of course spend the entire post talking about why it is good and why it shouldn't be scrapped. But then, it's not like you were expecting anything else.

David Cameron consistently says that he wants the way he runs the country to be "fair." This implies he wants to treat everyone in the country with equal value- which is what fair politics is. This means that:
1. Everyone needs to have equal access to opportunities to increase their wealth
2. In real life terms, this means that everyone needs to be able to apply for higher-paid jobs that they have the natural skills to undertake
3. People need to be able to prove their skills with qualifications in order to apply for high-paid jobs
4. Qualifications are gained from education
5. Therefore, everyone needs to have equal access to all levels of education

Working backwards:
1. Scrapping EMA means that not everyone has equal access to A-level education
2. Those rendered unable to access A-levels will not gain qualifications
3. Said people will not be able to apply for the same jobs as those who were able to take A-levels, even if they are perfectly capable of undertaking said jobs
4. So not everyone is able to apply for higher-paid jobs that they have the natural skills to perform in
5. So not not everyone has equal opportunities to increase their wealth

Which is why scrapping EMA is unfair. Similarly, when combined with the increased tuition fees, it will widen the gap between rich and poor more than any other time in this century. Britain is already an incredibly unequal society (one of the least equal in the West); why on earth are we making the situation worse?

The most common argument against EMA is:
But what about those people who get EMA and don't need it/waste it on alcohol or partying?
While this is a problem, it's never a reason to get rid of EMA completely. There are just as many, if not more people who completely depend on EMA and would not be able to do A-levels otherwise. The key question is, why should these people have to suffer because of the actions of those others who have acted wastefully? Why should their quality of life be decreased forever because of a situation they did not cause?

The whole reason we have a state school system in the first place is because we believe education is a right, not a privilege. A-levels are for everyone who needs them- not just those who can afford it.