Should higher education be funded by a tax on graduates? |
Students of higher education are already funding higher ed. through tuition.
A tax directed at graduates to pay for higher education facilities would be similar to a tax targeting smokers or people who consume gas. Yes, the services were used by the graduate, as in the other cases, but the benefit is not just to the graduate. Taxing an item that they have already paid for through tuition would discourage people from seeking higher education, thus reducing the number of doctors, teachers, accountants, etc.
Posted by: Ment0n3No, because graduates have enough trouble paying off student loans, from which the interest acts as a tax already.
All we need is another factor to discourage pursuing higher education. This country already lags other developed nations in terms of student performance, and we need an educated populace to fill skilled jobs and make better decisions. The job market is discouraging enough to graduates, and student loan interest already serves as a kind of tax on higher education.
Posted by: Th4FireTaxation of graduates should be used for funding higher education.
Many people need help paying for higher education, and taxation of graduates would help the government offer more financial aid. There are many people in the US who simply can't afford higher education because there parents aren't financially well-off. These people should not be limited to a high school education. Everyone should have the chance to obtain a higher education.
Posted by: Lex58Higher education should be funded by a tax on graduates.
I do believe that higher education should be funded by a tax on graduates. There should be many different ways to help fund education. I also believe the tax should only be placed on the people getting the education. I don't think that america should have to pay for it.
Posted by: barbiegirll
Taxing graduates only complicates problems for someone who wants to obtain a higher education.
Many students who go to college to obtain a higher education take out student loans to help them pay for their college education. These students have loans to repay after they graduate and are situated in jobs. If you make these people pay taxes in addition to their having to repay their loans, you soon get a generation of students who will not pursue a higher education because they will be excessively taxed for all their efforts to attain this education.
Posted by: ep0xihuskyHigher education should not be funded by a tax on graduates because it's unfairly punitive.
Higher education should not be funded by a tax on graduates because it's unfairly punitive. Graduates are often saddled with their own debt and don't always get a well-paying job immediately. If graduates do well in the real world, they'll make enough money to be paying more in taxes anyway.
Posted by: H0bi3InvaderMany graduates don't pursue higher education so why should a tax be placed on them.
I don't agree with placing a tax on graduates. What about all of those graduates who do not wish to pursue a higher education? Will a tax be put on them also? This is just another way to inch up taxes in small ways. Other ways need to be found to fund higher education.
Posted by: R0d0FerdyIt is ludicrous, with the already far too high cost of education, to impose a blanket tax on graduates.
Higher education is already extremely costly. It is ridiculous to impose a blanket tax on graduates, in general, without taking into consideration their income, employment status and other life circumstances. It would make much more sense to fund higher education in the same manner as public schools, and to make it so that there are universities that anyone may attend, free of charge. Of course, private schools would still exist. But, they wouldn't be the vast majority of schools and public universities would incur no fee, aside from the cost of course materials, which would be plainly spelled out ahead of time. If this system were in place, everyone would have a chance to acquire a higher education. The lack of ability to afford that same education has been creating and widening an alarming gap in the number of fair employment opportunities available to people born into different economic brackets for a very long time.
Posted by: PleasantCleveland49I oppose the idea of taxing graduates in order to fund higher education. Higher education should be funded by the government, in part, and graduates being forced to pay for this is excessive.
Graduates must pay for their own schooling and then face a tough economy with fewer jobs and less turnover in professional positions than we have seen in the past. Why should we add to that burden by further forcing them to pay education taxes so others can attend school?
If the government spent just a small portion of the money it spends yearly on warfare, education costs would go down, more people could attend school on government grants and aid, and there would be less conflict about who gets what type of school aid because there would be more of it to go around.
Taxing graduates for this purpose is in my opinion only going to deter future generations from pursuing higher education because they will know this tax is coming. This will in the end just further perpetuate the problem.Posted by: HayChiHigher education should not be funded by a tax on graduates since it already is.
The real question here is should public higher education be funded by a tax on graduates. This ignores the fact that graduates earn more money than non-graduates. Since the graduate earns more, he pays more taxes, therefore he is already being taxed to support public higher education. I would ask should all tax payers be required to fund public higher education?
Posted by: ElwBoardinHigher education should not be funded by a tax on graduates because it would discourage people from attending schools due to this unfair taxation.
Graduates should not be taxed to pay for higher education. In a time where we should be encouraging people to further their education I feel that would be a deterrent. Higher education should be paid for by those who want to attend colleges and universities. It is unfair to put the financial burden on graduates when they are just getting out and starting jobs that are usually lower paying.
Posted by: SilentIgnacioHigher education should not be funded by taxing the graduates because they are in enough debt already!
The funding of higher education should not be funded based on taxes to the graduates. Most students go into debt to attend and finish school. Taxing them would just decrease the number of students that want to finish college. Once they have their debts paid off, it might be a good idea to tax a small amount - or ask that they give a donation to their alma mater. I think it would be detrimental to the higher education system to tax the students.
Posted by: BGrahamOne of the problems with this country is the cost of higher education, which should be shared by all citizens and the government alike.
America is falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to higher education. The main reason for this is that it costs too much to become educated. In order for this country to rise to higher ranks, we should all absorb the costs of education to make it more affordable and accessible to all citizens. Taxing graduates alone is counterproductive.
Posted by: J Lamb 43The number one fault of higher education is already its high cost.
It is my opinion that college and graduate school should be offered for free or at least at minimal costs. Too many citizens, who are intelligent, are stopped in their learning when they realize they, or their families, can't afford to send them to college. This, in turn, insures that the gap between social classes remains intact. But, for a nation to be truly successful, it must not limit one's ability to continue learning. If every child knew that he or she would have the opportunity to go to college for free, it might just increase his or her motivation to learn prior to college.
Posted by: BrianDjHigher education should not be funded by a tax on graduates because higher education is a privilege not a right, and as such should not be taxed by the government.
Payment for a higher education should be the responsibility of the person desiring that education not the responsibility of taxpayers or former graduates. Graduates should not be punished with an unfair tax burden to pay the cost of educating other students, the responsibility of paying for a higher education should fall to each individual student on their own. If the government forces this unfair extra monetary burden on present graduates it will inevitably force many of those considering higher education to forgo their dreams.
Posted by: CarolBizarreHigher education should be funded by society as a whole because it benefits the entire country.
Higher education should not be funded by a tax on graduates because education benefits society as a whole, and therefore should be paid for in equity by the entire society. To place an undue burden of graduates is to penalize them for their hard work in achieving personal success and place an unfair responsibility on them to finance the endeavors of others through their hard work.
Posted by: ThegaXenHigher education should not be funded by a tax on graduates.
Those who have received a degree for a higher education institution have done so through hard work and perseverance. They should not be penalized by a tax to make it easy for those who follow in their footsteps. If college was so easily accessible (free) some would not have the drive to work hard and finish. There would be many more "drop outs" and there may actually be higher cost from the education institution involved. I do not feel that graduates who have worked hard to do so should be punished in this way.
Posted by: w00tboycomicNo, I do not believe that higher education should be funded by a tax on graduates.
I think that the American public is taxed enough. It seems that the middle class people are the ones who end up suffering in the end. There is too much taxing. It seems you would be punishing those who are seeking a higher education. Where will imposing Taxes ever end, if we do this?
Posted by: WomanWittHigher education is the responsibility of our entire nation, not just college graduates.
College graduates should not have to foot the bill for others to go to college; we as a country should all strive to make our public and private colleges the best they can be. We owe it to our children to make sure a college education is available to them. Each taxpayer in this country should be willing to do anything it takes to assure that college is available to all our children.
Posted by: ClosedUlysses75Mandatory taxes should not be forced on any individual.
Taxes that are mandatory are not justifiable in any situation, including the situation of funding higher education by taxing graduates, because an individual has a right to choose which groups he or she belongs to, and should not be forced to be a part of a group subjected to certain taxations without that individuals consent to be taxed.
Posted by: Wynn354Funding higher education on the backs of recent graduates would only work to discourage participation in our college and university systems.
Taxing college graduates in order to fund our college and university systems would have crippling effects on our economy, as a whole. If a graduate was left looking at a hefty tax bill the second they receive their degree, we would see fewer and fewer striving for these degrees and, when humans stop striving, it marks the end of the human spirit as we know it.
Posted by: C0n5tGetTaxing graduates already happens - through income, sales, and property taxes.
We hope that all graduates become gainfully employed and add to the tax base. Those who achieve the most typically earn the highest incomes. Our public colleges are supported by the public tax base. Those who earn the most pay the most, both in literal dollars and percentage of income, into our system. Thus the most successful graduates already pay the most in taxes, including to fund public colleges. Those graduates who are not successful may find themselves taxed and unable to pay. Those who might otherwise seek humanitarian or socially beneficial but low paying jobs (like social work or nursing) may be driven from those professions to higher paying ones so they can afford to live, not just pay the school tax. Taxes on graduates in place of student loans may be a reasonable form of school loan, but only if the tax was not so regressive that it discouraged those who graduated from working or from taking lower paying jobs. Nor should such a tax be mandated, as it discourages parents from saving for a child's education or drives scholarships out of the market.
Posted by: Pir4AndI oppose taxing graduates in order to fund higher education, taxes are seen as a form of discouragement, they should be eliminated when it comes to education.
If the government started to tax graduates so that higher education could be funded, chances are there won't be many people willing to carry on with an education where in they end they are required to sacrifice without receiving incentives. The government should be responsible for providing its citizens with the best education thinking of it as an investment of progression for the future of the society. If they taxed the graduates, people would become indifferent to even thinking about carrying on with their education because they will see that they will have more loss than profit. This will in turn lead to an increasing rate in illiteracy and eventually start to affect how productive society is as a whole.
Posted by: MyHierIf there is to be a tax for funding higher education it needs to be on everyone equally.
I am not an advocate of specially assessing any particular group of people to pay for something accessible to everyone. If we all want access to something and we want to have a tax that helps alleviate some of the cost of it, then we should all pay that tax. Simply because someone has graduated shouldn't make them a target for another tax. Especially since we already have enough taxes out there to suit me!
Posted by: MariaRI do not believe higher education should be funded by a tax specifically on graduates, as there is no reason to provide a disincentive to getting a higher education degree.
I believe enacting a tax specifically on graduates of higher education to fund higher education is the wrong thing to do. While I believe higher education should be funded by tax money, there is no reason to place a specific tax on higher education graduates. This would actually provide a disincentive against getting a degree, and I think people should be encouraged to educate themselves. In terms of revenue, people with degrees are likely to earn more, and thus pay more regular taxes, so this is another point against the graduate-specific tax.
Posted by: tacomoon