This was a piece that appeared in the Newsday Opinion section in 2003:
John Hover is a graduate student at Stony Brook University studying computer science. He lives in East Setauket.
June 30, 2003
Debate over the SUNY undergraduate tuition increase to $4,350, recommended by Chancellor Robert King and coming before SUNY's trustees today for a possible vote, ignores the wider context of the issue.
First, the fact that recent state budget shortfalls are forcing service cuts stems directly from a major federal tax cut - a tax cut that primarily benefits the wealthy and is expected to result in at least a trillion-dollar federal deficit by 2013. In the past, states could count on federal aid during cyclic economic downturns. This time, the feds aren't offering any help.
This isn't by accident. It's part of a conservative plan to drastically scale back what they see as the evils of government by starving it of funding. Whenever you hear "reducing government intrusion," try replacing it with "eliminating public services."
Second, in most other rich, industrialized countries, public higher education is free or cheap. And grants are often available to cover living expenses. This is in stark contrast to a working-class U.S. student juggling two jobs to meet tuition, or accumulating thousands of dollars in debt.
In Germany, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, tuition is free. In Britain, public college tuition is about $2,000 a year. In Ireland, there was a recent public outcry over raising annual college tuition to a paltry $772.
Not surprisingly, the same countries offering accessible higher education typically provide universal health care as well. Yes, these countries have higher tax rates, but consider the value of the services received in return. Higher education and health care are two considerable after-tax expenses for U.S. families. Moreover, despite conservative protests at such observations, these countries' economies are hardly collapsing, nor are their tax systems seriously impeding business and innovation (witness Swedish Saabs, German luxury automobiles and Finnish Nokia cell phones).
So, while we debate whether a 28- percent SUNY tuition hike is reasonable, shouldn't we be asking instead why New York is being forced to raise the cost of a service which is cheap or free in much of the rest of the developed world?
Copyright � 2003, Newsday, Inc.
