Perhaps
one of the most prophetic assertions ever made was by the French poet, novelist
and dramatist Victor Hugo, who penned the following line: “Nothing is as powerful as an idea
whose time has come.” It may be America is on the verge of just
such an idea. You’ll note the eminent author offered no comment relating to
whether the idea is good or bad. Apparently “whose time has come” is a factor
independent of the worthiness of the idea.
We’ll
flash back to the 2016 presidential elections and a campaign pledge made by then-candidate
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), who, on May 3, 2016, proposed a formula to create
free college education at public universities throughout the nation, at a price
of $75 billion annually, to be financed through transaction taxes on Wall
Street trades. Though Sen. Sanders no longer has a prominent forum from which
to expound his views, his free college concept may have struck a political
nerve. On Jan. 3, 2017, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, with Sanders at his
side, addressed the students at LaGuardia Community College in Queens, calling
for legislation to provide free tuition for all full-time students who attend all
New York state colleges. He declared that “to be competitive globally, we have
to have the best educated workforce, and that means we have to have college for
every child, man or woman who wants to attend.”
I
harbor a few thoughts on this subject. I approve of college scholarships and
have been involved in a foundation assisting well qualified students to obtain
chemistry degrees these past 37 years. Note that the operative words are “well
qualified,” for if the student is not both bright and motivated, any effort or
funds devoted to the project are mostly wasted. And this is my concern with
scholarship programs that are politically motivated. They are not administered
for the education they provide the recipient, but rather for the votes they
provide the sponsors.
Let
me add a final comment: The enthusiastic support which Governor Cuomo’s
proposal understandably received from students tells me this is an idea whose
time has come. This was equally evident to Sen. Sanders, who prophesized: “If
New York state does it this year, mark my words, state after state will
follow.” Yes, it will come to pass, despite the fact the end result will be the
effective stuffing of huge sums of public money down the proverbial rat hole.
But perhaps that’s what public funds are all about.
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If you enjoy this
weekly Straight Talk by Al Jacobs, you’re invited to check out my monthly
Financial Newsletter, as well as my new book, Roadway to Prosperity
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