Comments

1
"who got theirs," not "there's, "Goldy. Please fix.
2
I'm conflicted about what to do about higher ed. One idea: maybe let student loans be discharged in bankruptcy. One of the reasons colleges can charge as much as they do is because they know they'll get their money up front from student loans. The government/private companies that make those loans know they'll get their money one way or another because they're not dischargeable in bankruptcy. If they were, you can bet the loans would not be given out hand over fist like they are now, and colleges would have to adjust to that reality. You'd have a lot more people going to comm colleges, working part time and perhaps less debt in the end. But that's how a lot of people did it 30 years ago, when Tom, Chopp etc were in school.
3
And I'll bet they also had Pell grants and other non-loan financial aid to cover much of the cost.
4
Difference being, 30 years ago work paid off a big chunk of your college costs. My summer job in the 80's covered all of my tuition and books, and a small chunk of my living expenses.

A student today with that job doesn't even manage to cover tuition for one quarter.
5
It's all part of a national race to the bottom. The people who control the political process have decided that they want low taxes more than they want a bright future for the masses, and the masses have decided they'd rather watch the game and play with their smartphones than work on regaining control of that process. State support of education requires more money than we can borrow, so it went away.

Whattaya think- nachos or tacos for the big game? Solved: both!

6
I don't see Governor Eyman's college tuition on your chart.
8
I heard Robert Gates speak at a clean tech/clean energy conference on Monday. He talked about the threats and opportunities presented by energy and natural resource competition, pollution, climate change, etc. and the challenges facing the US. When asked what our biggest concern as a state was - and keep in mind, this is the former Secretary of Defense, one-time head of CIA, and past president of Texas A&M, so I think his worldview should be given some measure of respect - he was damn near shaking with anger at how states, ours in particular, have continued to cut higher ed, trading a short-term fiscal gain for long-term problems. Unfortunately, there were no representatives of our legislature in attendance to be called to task.
9

Want lower tuition?

How about paying your property taxes?

Washington State pays about half the property tax of what Texas pays...another state with no income tax that yet does not seem to have trouble meeting its budget and also has a lower sales tax (6.25%)

King County:

Tax Paid as % of Median Home Value 0.95 +/- 0.01%
County Rank (nationally) 454 out of 806 counties

Dallas County (Dallas/Ft. Worth):

Tax Paid as % of Median Home Value 2.12 +/- 0.06%
County Rank (nationally) 53 out of 806 counties

Using one year data, 2010 from:
http://interactive.taxfoundation.org/pro…

10
@7 All that's going to do is keep young people who have the aptitude but not the means from ever going to college, and keep the children of the priveleged in college, regardless of their ability or ambition. If you don't think that that six figures of student loan debt is enough to scare off a prospective student from an impoverished background, you're deluded.
11

University of Texas Tuition:

Estimated Undergraduate Flat-Rate Tuition and Fees (2012 – 2013)
Texas resident $9, 346 – 10,738
Non-resident $31,756 – 36,396

http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/whyut/basi…

Conclusion:

Texas, a state which is berated by sniffy Washington Liberals actually has a fairer and more progressive tax structure than Washington State and is able to meet its obligations and provide services like higher education at a lower cost!

1 Point Rick Perry.
0 for Gregoire.
12
#11

Are you saying that it is Gregoire's (aand the state democrats, by extension) fault that we don't have high enough taxes?
13
I'm all for access to higher ed but do I really need to be footing the bill for your Art History degree? How is that helpful for anybody?
14

#12

Democrat Leadership chooses to ignore the use of property (and asset) taxes and phrase the need for more revenue solely as a burden on productive people by use of income taxes and on the lowest paid workers through the use of sales tax.

I shouldn't however group all Democrats together, as Bob Hasegawa has put a bill, HB-2100, to tax intangible assets as property, which is a step in the right direction.

Weekly Map: Sources of State and Local Tax Revenue: Property Tax

http://taxfoundation.org/blog/weekly-map…

15
@13 Yes, this opinion is a side effect of the present boring age of promoting STEM at the expense of the liberal arts. I'm a STEM graduate but I believe wholeheartedly in getting a fucking culture (we need to replace ours badly) rather than an iPhone. It's amazing how many so-called skeptics, pro-science people profess intelligence but don't have any real lateral knowledge (real) and what's more galling they select against it so very unscientifically.

So if I see these disparaging remarks (re: "why should my tax dollars help fund your 17th century women's literature nonsense [because everything must be functional, get it?]?", I see it as pathology rather than enlightenment. Just because a narrow world view precludes one from seeing the benefits, doesn't mean it should be discounted.

16
@13: why single out art history? what about criminal justice? how about phys ed?
18
Here's the thing. Higher Education was once thought of as a good thing -- following your passions and seeing where that took you. We were all equal. I don't give a fuck if someone is studying 17th Century Women's Issues. Good for them. And ruler of the universe, you're a fucking shill ass idiot. Typical "conservative". Never a solution, just hate, indifference and a supreme lack of empathy.

Is it any wonder "liberals" hate motherfuckers like you? You're a self fulfilling prophecy, dude. Your incuriousness and stridency is the EXACT problem you address whilst taking the tack of omnipotence, which doesn't fucking exist, homeboy. Open mind, chief. Open mind.

This is the point of "liberalism" as it once was before your corporate, craven free market messiahs got hold of everything and then went "what? Who, me?". Fuck you, bro. Every human should be afforded an affordable, top notch education.
19
Any chance this can get into next week's paper? It's a story that needs massive telling.
20
Well, do keep in mind that UW, for its ranking in US News&World Report, as one of the best picks for costs for a great public university, had that ranking because of the low tuition. There is really no way to sustain that kind of quality with low tuition (not and keep great professors).

I'm not saying continuing to raise tuition is the answer but you have to compare good public universities (and Texas is not really in that league).
21
@14 "Democratic Leadership," asshole, not "Democrat."

The advantage of income taxes is that they automatically adjust to reduce the burden on people who are not doing as well at any moment. No other tax mechanism does that so neatly.

High property taxes are great if you are employed and in a decent job at age 40 or 50. They SUCK ASS if you are 20 or 70 or just lost your job, and don't have any income.
22
@11 and @14, Texas schmexas - every state in the country has a more progressive tax system than Washington does: http://www.itep.org/whopays/

Since most revenue matters in Olympia require two-thirds House and Senate votes for passage, they're hostage to a minority - one-third of senators or representatives - who can block any path toward fairer/more adequate funding for higher ed (or anything else, for that matter).

There may be a way out, though. If Texas really is that progressive, maybe you could do us all a favor here in Washington by convincing Tim "King of Minority Rule" Eyman to move there. Thanks in advance!
23
@18
Maybe if you considered things like how the government impacts the economics and supply/demand of college tuition, you would change your mind; However, I doubt that's possible- you see, when the government gives out loans to anyone with a pulse it allows them to bid up tuition. When you increase demand with cheap money from the government, prices go up. How strange! What happens when english and history majors graduate with $50k in debt and no marketable job skills? That's right, they default. Who is on the line then....the taxpayer.
Similar to the housing bubble and the cheap loans/low interest rates encouraged bad investment, the exact same thing is happening with fools that accumulate large amounts of debt to study worthless degrees.
24
@#7
So you are suggesting that higher education should be made into an exclusive club primarily for those who can afford the skyrocketing cost in order to make the job market less competitive for those with bachelors degrees?
Sounds like you haven't really thought that one through chief. Jobs are being outsourced from this country because 1: There are people in other less developed countries that can perform the same menial labor for dirt cheap. 2:Other developed countries are turning out smarter students with more relevant degrees.
Now we can't really do much about the first one because no one wants those jobs anyway, but I can assure you a race to the bottom will only result in more good paying education based jobs being outsourced and more poverty in this country. Which will end up costing the government more and more while congressional Republicans continue to blame the impoverished and families who need government support for being a burden on society while at the same time stepping on them instead of helping them up.
The money is there, if we only spent less money on wars in which very few people profit at the cost of our lives, or spent less on locking up more of our population then any other country in the world in privatized revolving door prisons. A nation that spends more money on incarcerating people up then educating people has no hope for a better future.

Please wait...

and remember to be decent to everyone
all of the time.

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