Oregon Legislature Passes "Free" Higher Education Plan

[Leweman]

Going off an Australian model, students will be able to attend one of Oregon's 7 state universities for free and, upon graduating and getting employed, will pay 3% of their paycheck back to the school for 24 years. Don't know why the article says its free when it's really just deferred payment. Don't know what happens if you don't get a job or don't graduate. Thoughts?

Oregon Legislature Unanimously Passes Tuition Free Higher Education -

 

[Old Rocks]

One of the problems of the types of loans for higher education today is that once graduated, you have this big debt. And no matter that the little company that offers you a chance to do something that you are really good at, and can make a differance for them, the bottle washing job that the big corperation offers pays the debt.

A rather conservative editor of the a science fiction magazine, Analog, name John Campbell had what I think is an excellant plan. You go to tech school for two years, college for four, or go for a masters or Phd, you pay 1, 2, or 3% of your gross income into the education fund for the rest of your life. Whether you become a janitor at the local grade school, or follow in Bill Gates footsteps. I would bet in twenty years time that there would be enough surplus in the education fund to begin funding some blue sky research.

 

[Staidhup]

So how will Oregon support higher education? When I was last there the news was all about the fact that they had a problem funding PERS, had fired the head of the U of O for attempting to remove the university from the department of education, and the schools were a shambles? Oh well thats the left coast for you. Must be a considerable number of those 2%-ers flipping the bill. Heck last I knew they didn't even have a sales tax.

 

[Politico]

Oregon is one of the crazy eight states. No surprise.

 

[DGS49]

The problem with the high cost of "Higher Education" will not be resolved by finding new and painless ways to fund it. In fact, that strategy has resulted in tuitions going up at multiples of the real rate of inflation.

This plan seems like a politician's wet dream. Lots of money with no pain. The system will result in a huge and endless outflow of state money until some REPUBLICAN in the future tries to end it. And you can even now predict the wailing and gnashing of teeth that will result from that initiative.

The good/bad thing about growing older is that you've seen it all before.