Phendrana Drifts

Back before he was Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, as well before his little sojourn as the lone member of the Lyle Party, Dr. Oberg was Minister of Learning. In that time, as a result of what I do for a living, I got to know a little bit better the future candidate to lead the party that doesn't want him. A recent news article got me thinking of one of his promises.

In his tenure, he created the Alberta Centennial Education Savings plan. A great little thing where if you have a child born in 2006 you get a free $500 RESP plan so long as you apply. The program gets a little more complicated after that, but to start with it is that simple. A free $500 RESP. Who wouldn't want that? Well, I can tell you that the vast majority of Canadian parents simply don't save for their child's education. Right or wrong, it is what Canadians do (or in this case, don't do).

When he created the program, I asked Dr. Oberg what he thought the success rate for this program would be. He said, without blinking an eye "100%". I said, no, I know that 100% of people eligible for the program could get it, and I was glad that they were budgeting for 100%, but really, what what percentage of people would actually apply given that only 20% of Canadians save for their kids. Some wouldn't. Or so I thought. He said, again, making himself perfectly clear, that 100% of parents with newborns in 2005 would do this. He was certain. 100% certain as it were.

Well, here's the article: Cash just waiting for kids (The Sun's links disappear quickly, so don't take forever to click on it). Yep, 20%.

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