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Columnist says low tuition is welfare { March 19 2001 } "If welfare is defined as a system that takes money away from people who earned it and gives it to people who didn't, then every student in the state-run higher education system is on welfare. All of them -- not merely those with government grants -- are getting at least 66 percent of the cost of their college degree for free: a handout from the taxpayers. It would be nice if the taxpayers were occasionally thanked for their generosity. Usually they are just hectored for more." HIGHER ED WELFARE IN BAY STATE Published on March 19, 2001 Author(s): JEFF JACOBY, GLOBE STAFF TUITION AT MASSACHUSETTS STATE COLLEGES IS COMING DOWN FOR THE SIXTH YEAR IN A ROW. AS ALWAYS, THE STORY IS BEING TREATED AS A TIDING OF GREAT COMFORT AND JOY. "With the cost of four years of private college tuition approaching the price of a single-family house," began the Boston Herald's upbeat Page 1 story, "state higher education officials are expected today to slice more money off the bill for attending Massachusetts' four year colleges. The vote by the Board Click for complete article (830 words) http://www.bigeye.com/jj031901.htm FALLING STATE-COLLEGE TUITION IS NOTHING TO CHEER By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist Copyright 2001 Boston Globe Mar. 19, 2001 Tuition at Massachusetts state colleges is coming down for the sixth year in a row. As always, the story is being treated as a tiding of great comfort and joy. "With the cost of four years of private college tuition approaching the price of a single-family house," began the Boston Herald's upbeat Page 1 story, "state higher education officials are expected today to slice more money off the bill for attending Massachusetts' four year colleges. The vote by the Board of Higher Education would lower the cost of a student's share of tuition ... by $60 a year, bringing the average cost of tuition and fees to $2,839 for undergraduates. "People in the business of trying to help low-income and minority students ... said the price cuts should increase access to higher education for hundreds of students each year." Does anyone really believe this propaganda? "Hundreds of students" in the Bay State won't go to college unless the state's bargain-basement tuition is reduced by another $60? Please. According to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, government scholarships, grants, and tuition waivers have grown so lavish that students whose family income is under $32,000 can attend a community or state college for free. Students with family income as high as $80,000 qualify for deep discounts. They can attend a community college for just $500 per year, or a state college for $1,000 in their first two years and $2,000 as juniors and seniors. Even students who don't qualify for aid -- presumably those from families making more than $80,000 -- are only asked to pay for a fraction of what they receive. Tuition and fees are designed to cover no more than one-third of what it actually costs to provide a state college or University of Massachusetts education. At the community colleges, tuition and fees only cover one-fourth of the cost. If welfare is defined as a system that takes money away from people who earned it and gives it to people who didn't, then every student in the state-run higher education system is on welfare. All of them -- not merely those with government grants -- are getting at least 66 percent of the cost of their college degree for free: a handout from the taxpayers. It would be nice if the taxpayers were occasionally thanked for their generosity. Usually they are just hectored for more. The typical justification for this higher-ed welfare is that "not everyone can afford private college tuition." That is true, of course, just as it is true of half the students in private colleges and universities. But the solution to that problem is financial aid, not a network of state-run colleges and universities. No politician in his right mind would suggest that the best way to make sure poor people eat is to build a statewide chain of government supermarkets to sell food at a loss. It is vastly more practical to give the needy a voucher -- such as food stamps -- and let them buy their groceries at Star Market. Similarly, the best way to help poor but deserving students attend college is to supply them with higher education vouchers that they can use to pay the tab at the college or university of their choice. It has never made sense for the state to be in competition with the private sector -- especially not in Massachusetts, where private higher education is a tradition older than statehood. To this day, the vast majority of degrees awarded in Massachusetts are earned in private institutions of learning. The populist argument for state higher education -- "not everyone can afford private tuition" -- is false for another reason: The cheap tuition is unconnected to ability to pay. The commonwealth keeps lowering the price for everyone, rich and poor alike. Nobody attending a state college or UMass is expected to pay more than one-third the cost of his education. Nobody attending a community college is expected to pay more than one-fourth. Consequently, low- and middle-income taxpayers often end up footing the bill for upper-income students. "Increasing access and affordability has been the highest priority of the Board of Higher Education," says Stephen Tocco, the board's chairman. A more honest way to put it is that the state colleges are redistributing money to the well off from the not-so-well-off. Headlines that cheerfully trumpet the latest tuition cut -- which is to say, the latest increase in the subsidy paid by taxpayers -- mask other injustices, too. The system makes people who didn't attend college underwrite those who do. It forces citizens who paid their own way through school to finance students who would rather let someone else get the check. It compels those whose earning power is falling to enrich those whose earning power is on the rise. None of this is fair. Most of it is indefensible. Should the media really be applauding? (Jeff Jacoby is a columnist for the The Boston Globe.)

2005 college tuition moving up { May 19 2004 } Anti voucher essay { May 1 2003 } Blair seeks to calm tuition fee fears { December 4 2002 } Blair stands firm on tuition fees { June 24 1998 } Bush cuts after school programs Bush deficit reduction act hurts education funds { February 2 2006 } College costs up with less state aid College fair aids students facing rising tuition { November 13 2003 } College tuition fees up 7perc this year { October 22 2007 } College tuition outstrip aid Columnist says low tuition is welfare { March 19 2001 } Contracters profit off failing students { February 4 2006 } Dc mayor now endorses vouchers { May 2 2003 } Diane feinstein suports dc vouchers { September 27 2003 } Edison company narrows losses { May 15 2003 } Education secretary to close nclb loophole { April 21 2006 } Ehrlich links slot machines to education money Failed schools to be privitized { March 29 2006 } Federal program turns troops into teachers Free europe tuition receiving battering { October 13 2003 } Higher education flunks affordability House passes dc voucher plan { September 5 2003 } Maryland 2m grant helps troops to public school teachers Maryland university tuition going up 6perc 2005 { January 27 2005 } More relying on college loans as tuition rises { June 2 2004 } Neil bush makes money with privitizing education Opinion fewer students can afford college { November 6 2003 } Parents too poor to save for children Philly district head wants cut price { May 22 2003 } Philly nations largest privatization experiment { May 23 2003 } Religious voucher { June 28 2002 } Royal battle over tuition fees { January 17 2003 } School vouchers { July 2 2002 } Schools cut back all subjects except reading and math { March 26 2006 } Schools dont teach american culture or history { February 26 2008 } Student protests Ehrlich veto over tuition veto { June 16 2004 } Texas university tuition incease Textbook sell off { October 30 2002 } Tuition rises 10 percent at colleges { October 20 2004 } Tuition rises maryland put mission at risk University education costs are rising Voucher measure bogged down in senate { September 25 2003 } Vouchers hurt those most in need { October 6 2003 } Vouchers urged dc schools { April 16 2003 } Why fees rise while services stagnate { October 27 2003 } Files Listed: 45

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