In 2003, Texas legislators made a serious error. They decided to allow state colleges and universities to set their own tuition rates without guidance or regulation from state government. Since that time, it seems like every time we turn around colleges are raising their tuition.
On the average, tuition in state colleges has increased by 40% since 2003. At the University of Texas the figure is 57%. These are outrageous figures. As Senator Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands) says, "This is like crack for the universities. They just can't seem to get enough of these tuition increases."
It was already hard for poor and working class people to be able to fund a college education. With tuition costs rising every year, many people are simply finding that they cannot afford a college education no matter how badly they want it. This is not only a tragedy for those denied a college education. It is also a tragedy for our society and our state.
The fact is that the more people who can get a college education, the better off our state will be. Funding a college education is one of the most cost-effective things a state can do. Those who receive the education make significantly larger salaries, and over their lifetime will pay a lot more in taxes of all kinds. The government receives far more in additional taxes than it spent on educating these people.
During the Republican regime of the last few years, our government has found billions of dollars to throw at corporations, but has been unable or unwilling to help Texas students to get a college education. They claim to be business-minded, but cannot understand a truly cost-effective proposition such as funding college educations.
If we were really smart, we would be offering free tuition for those who maintained a 2.5 grade-point average, and open up the opportunity of a college education to all who want it. It would increase the percentage of educated people in our society. It would raise the standard of living for many thousands of people. And it would feed the tax coffers of our state with more money. It would truly be a win-win situation.
But I'm afraid that is just a dream no matter how much sense it makes. Probably the best we can hope for is for the legislators to put a cap on tuitions and regulate their growth. We'll probably be lucky if they even do that.
Sen. Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen) said, "I think we'll look back in history on the day we deregulated tuition as one of the worst decisions ever made by the Legislature." He is right. The only question now is do they have the political will to correct this horrendous decision.
On the average, tuition in state colleges has increased by 40% since 2003. At the University of Texas the figure is 57%. These are outrageous figures. As Senator Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands) says, "This is like crack for the universities. They just can't seem to get enough of these tuition increases."
It was already hard for poor and working class people to be able to fund a college education. With tuition costs rising every year, many people are simply finding that they cannot afford a college education no matter how badly they want it. This is not only a tragedy for those denied a college education. It is also a tragedy for our society and our state.
The fact is that the more people who can get a college education, the better off our state will be. Funding a college education is one of the most cost-effective things a state can do. Those who receive the education make significantly larger salaries, and over their lifetime will pay a lot more in taxes of all kinds. The government receives far more in additional taxes than it spent on educating these people.
During the Republican regime of the last few years, our government has found billions of dollars to throw at corporations, but has been unable or unwilling to help Texas students to get a college education. They claim to be business-minded, but cannot understand a truly cost-effective proposition such as funding college educations.
If we were really smart, we would be offering free tuition for those who maintained a 2.5 grade-point average, and open up the opportunity of a college education to all who want it. It would increase the percentage of educated people in our society. It would raise the standard of living for many thousands of people. And it would feed the tax coffers of our state with more money. It would truly be a win-win situation.
But I'm afraid that is just a dream no matter how much sense it makes. Probably the best we can hope for is for the legislators to put a cap on tuitions and regulate their growth. We'll probably be lucky if they even do that.
Sen. Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen) said, "I think we'll look back in history on the day we deregulated tuition as one of the worst decisions ever made by the Legislature." He is right. The only question now is do they have the political will to correct this horrendous decision.
Our society already has too large a divide between the rich and poor. We cannot allow a college education to become something only the rich can afford.
I truly believe that we have reached the point where technology has become one with our world, and I am fairly confident when I say that we have passed the point of no return in our relationship with technology.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Ethical concerns aside... I just hope that as the price of memory decreases, the possibility of copying our brains onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's one of the things I really wish I could encounter in my lifetime.
(Posted on Nintendo DS running [url=http://kwstar88.livejournal.com/491.html]R4[/url] DS scPost)