Capitol Report
By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
Scott Walker recent announced a legislative package that purports to provide “meaningful assistance” in making college more affordable.
Naturally, Republican lawmakers took great delight in seizing the initiative, and acted as if this proposal was the best thing since sliced bread.
Now that the initial hoopla has subsided, I thought this would be an opportune time to examine this package in greater detail.
Walker’s proposal specifically includes: removing the cap on tax-deductible student loan interest, increasing need-based assistance programs at technical colleges and bringing on more internship coordinators across the state.
Lifting the tax-deduction cap, which is currently $2,500, would cost about $5.2 million, and his plan to increase need-based assistance at technical colleges would cost about $1 million and help about 1,000 students.
Moreover, the governor repeatedly touts his moves to freeze University of Wisconsin System tuition for four consecutive years and said they halted years of significant increases.
And, according to Walker, “The best thing we’ve done over the last four years is freeze tuition.”
Contrary to Walker’s tuition freeze claims, college costs have continued to rise.
For example, at UWMadison, student fees have gone up about 3 percent and room and board costs have increased about 10 percent over the last four school years, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
At UW-Milwaukee, student fees jumped nearly 23 percent and room and board expenses rose nearly 7 percent.
If Walker was truly interested in addressing the mounting costs of postsecondary education, he would be amenable to allowing students to refinance their student loan obligations.
Republicans are always ranting about the dangers associated with the rising national debt that currently stands at roughly $18 trillion.
Here’s an argument that Walker and his cronies should readily understand: $19 billion in student loan debt held by more than 800,000 people is a ban on the state’s economy.
Let’s not be duped, Walker and his Republican cohorts are no friends of education.
In the last five years, they have cut more than $2 billion from public education.
These deplorable numbers speak for themselves:
• K-12 Public Schools – $1.05 billion lost in GPR school aids
• University of Wisconsin System – $795 million lost in state aid
• Wisconsin technical college system – $203 million lost in state aid.