For a state
that already does not efficiently use its higher education resources, Pres.
Barack Obama’s
proposal
to throw around free community college education to all would end up
particularly ruinous to Louisiana, and thereby needs rejecting.
Last week, Obama announced that he
wanted the federal government to pay 75 percent of the costs to those who
wished to attend these, with states picking up the other quarter of the tab.
Presumably, this means that anyone who graduates high school or who obtains a
General Equivalency Diploma could get a full ride as long as they took a paltry
six hours of courses a semester, maintained a 2.5 GPA (at this academic level much
lower means either you’re lazy or you shouldn’t be able to fog a mirror), and
apparently would have several years of eligibility for this. The estimated federal
government annual cost is $60
billion, and assuming the proportion of Louisiana students doing this
mirrors its proportion of the national population, this could cost the state
$600 million annually.
That amount alone, or over half
of what the state planned to contribute to pay for its entire higher education
system this fiscal year, makes it a non-starter, but there are plenty of non-fiscal
reasons why this is a bad idea. Marginally negative is that it could skew into
community colleges students who could develop more fully at a baccalaureate-and-above
school. More negative is that it would push a greater number of marginal
students into college, where few will succeed (only about a fifth complete
programs as it is, although some are there for knowledge from a few specific
classes), wasting taxpayer resources by having to provide more instructional
resources that really aren’t needed. This also spills over to more qualified
students, who, knowing that a free ride awaits them if they squeak out of high
school, strive for the minimum, instead of feeling an imperative they need to
produce as much quality as possible in order to earn their way at lower costs into
higher education, creating more capability and return on taxpayer dollars from
elementary and secondary education.
But the most compelling reason why
another entitlement will backfire is this dampening extends to higher education
study as well. Replicating the attitudes of some below it, doing just enough to
slide by cheapens the higher education experience and uses taxpayer dollars less
efficiently. One truism about the issue of subsidizing students is that the
more resources they personally have at stake, the more motivation they have to
maximize their performances, and this plan removes that incentive.
Naturally, there may be some with plenty
of motivation in life situations where lack of funds holds them back. However,
in many instances this will have come because of poor life choices they
previously made: obnoxious spending habits, hastily conceived and/or poorly
vetted marriage choices, having children without much life planning, etc., and
it’s questionable whether taxpayers should be made responsible for making up
for these unforced errors. In fact, having this program removes another
incentive for people to look to the future and think carefully about decisions,
knowing that they don’t have to plan carefully for the future on this because the
program will bail them out if they choose poorly.
Yet some will be in tough situations
to pursue college because of misfortune beyond their control, even if they made
good decisions. Fortunately, many organizations outside of government exist to
serve their needs, and government itself already provides aid through grants
and low-cost scholarships. Similar avenues also exist for the late bloomers who
want to turn their lives around, requiring no additional government
involvement.
Actually, if this effort were less
an attempt to buy votes and more about training for the economic future, the
federal government should encourage states to embark on apprenticeship programs
imported from other economically-developed countries such as in
Wisconsin and Georgia. Government’s role here is to create a system to
match high school upperclassmen with employers, and also can provide grants to
encourage placements. This would turn out far less expensive than just allowing
all comers into community and technical colleges and hope that enough finish to
fill out needed jobs.
Even if, miraculously, this
Democrat-inspired budget-buster would make it through a Republican-controlled
Congress, Louisiana should refuse participation. Instead, its Members of
Congress and state officials should petition for superior options such as
apprenticeship programs. About the only thing Obama got right about this issue
is that education delivery must match an economy that increasingly relies upon
higher-skilled labor.
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