Free College Tuition: a Solution in Search of a Problem
Lasee’s Notes
Free college tuition – sounds great doesn’t it? Not many college students would pass on an opportunity like that. If it’s free – no one pays right?
In order to get free tuition the student will have to commit to staying ten years in a state with long winters, high taxes, burdensome regulation, a low-scale social scene, and a lack of good paying jobs. Which students will jump at the opportunity?
Free tuition is part of a plan that the Wisconsin commission on improving higher education will likely endorse this week. The proposal calls for free college tuition for any student (that means both in-state and out-of-state kids) who commits to staying here for ten years after they get their diploma. Several of the commission members have labeled this concept as the “big bang” idea because they believe it will revolutionize the Dairy State. In their opinion, creating a “captive” workforce will draw new business and industry to Wisconsin and help lower our tax burden.
So instead of working to make our state more business and taxpayer friendly by lowering taxes, requiring our governments to spend less, or improving our heavy handed regulatory environment (all proven ways to attract and keep jobs) – we are now going to hold kids hostage and create a give away program of massive scale.
The problem they say they want to solve is that too many college grads are fleeing the state and we need to keep more of them here. The commission’s theory simply isn’t true. They want to give away something for free to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. This is so typical of a bureaucratic mindset.
Wisconsin doesn’t have a serious “brain drain” problem. According to the Federal Reserve Bank in Minnesota, four out of five Wisconsin natives stayed in state after finishing college. Our overall graduate retention rate is the same or better than other Midwestern states. We are keeping our kids here.
THE REAL PROBLEM IS: WE ARE NOT ATTRACTING COLLEGE GRADS FROM OTHER STATES. Holding the kids in that we already have here won’t solve anything.
What we need to do is work to make our state more attractive to out of state grads that are looking to relocate. That includes making it easier for technology sector companies to locate and remain here because they often pay higher wages.
Another problem with this free tuition program is what do we do if the jobs don’t come? How will picking up the tuition improve this? What do we do when one of these students moves out of state for a job or the weather or a significant other? How will we get them to pay back the money? We can’t get businesses to pay back their state grants. Why would thousands of students be any different?
If the program fails and businesses don’t come, are we going to let the kids (who have gotten their college education on the taxpayer’s dime) off the hook? We already heavily subsidize the university system to the tune of over $1 billion per year ($6,250 per student). If we paid the tuition too just imagine how much our bill would be. Regardless of how successful this program is, we will all pay more.
This free tuition giveaway is simply another government imposed solution in search of a problem. Of course, solving the problem mostly involves government forcefully taking MORE of OUR money to pay for more government programs. That’s indicative of the government problem we face in Wisconsin.
The question is: will we ever learn? My bet is that with a University System that wants to solve problems that don’t exist, with solutions that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, we will not get smart fast enough.
An interesting fact – Colorado is second in the country in the percentage of their population with college degrees. That is pretty impressive for a state that was supposedly ruined by their limits on government spending and taxes (the Taxpayer Bill of Rights). Why do college grads want to live in Colorado? The state isn’t bribing them to stay with free tuition.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lasee’s Notes is a weekly column by Representative Frank Lasee, 2nd Assembly District, covering events in the Legislature and statewide.
Free college tuition – sounds great doesn’t it? Not many college students would pass on an opportunity like that. If it’s free – no one pays right?
In order to get free tuition the student will have to commit to staying ten years in a state with long winters, high taxes, burdensome regulation, a low-scale social scene, and a lack of good paying jobs. Which students will jump at the opportunity?
Free tuition is part of a plan that the Wisconsin commission on improving higher education will likely endorse this week. The proposal calls for free college tuition for any student (that means both in-state and out-of-state kids) who commits to staying here for ten years after they get their diploma. Several of the commission members have labeled this concept as the “big bang” idea because they believe it will revolutionize the Dairy State. In their opinion, creating a “captive” workforce will draw new business and industry to Wisconsin and help lower our tax burden.
So instead of working to make our state more business and taxpayer friendly by lowering taxes, requiring our governments to spend less, or improving our heavy handed regulatory environment (all proven ways to attract and keep jobs) – we are now going to hold kids hostage and create a give away program of massive scale.
The problem they say they want to solve is that too many college grads are fleeing the state and we need to keep more of them here. The commission’s theory simply isn’t true. They want to give away something for free to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. This is so typical of a bureaucratic mindset.
Wisconsin doesn’t have a serious “brain drain” problem. According to the Federal Reserve Bank in Minnesota, four out of five Wisconsin natives stayed in state after finishing college. Our overall graduate retention rate is the same or better than other Midwestern states. We are keeping our kids here.
THE REAL PROBLEM IS: WE ARE NOT ATTRACTING COLLEGE GRADS FROM OTHER STATES. Holding the kids in that we already have here won’t solve anything.
What we need to do is work to make our state more attractive to out of state grads that are looking to relocate. That includes making it easier for technology sector companies to locate and remain here because they often pay higher wages.
Another problem with this free tuition program is what do we do if the jobs don’t come? How will picking up the tuition improve this? What do we do when one of these students moves out of state for a job or the weather or a significant other? How will we get them to pay back the money? We can’t get businesses to pay back their state grants. Why would thousands of students be any different?
If the program fails and businesses don’t come, are we going to let the kids (who have gotten their college education on the taxpayer’s dime) off the hook? We already heavily subsidize the university system to the tune of over $1 billion per year ($6,250 per student). If we paid the tuition too just imagine how much our bill would be. Regardless of how successful this program is, we will all pay more.
This free tuition giveaway is simply another government imposed solution in search of a problem. Of course, solving the problem mostly involves government forcefully taking MORE of OUR money to pay for more government programs. That’s indicative of the government problem we face in Wisconsin.
The question is: will we ever learn? My bet is that with a University System that wants to solve problems that don’t exist, with solutions that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, we will not get smart fast enough.
An interesting fact – Colorado is second in the country in the percentage of their population with college degrees. That is pretty impressive for a state that was supposedly ruined by their limits on government spending and taxes (the Taxpayer Bill of Rights). Why do college grads want to live in Colorado? The state isn’t bribing them to stay with free tuition.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lasee’s Notes is a weekly column by Representative Frank Lasee, 2nd Assembly District, covering events in the Legislature and statewide.
posted by John Q Cheesehead | 11:44 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home