An increase in the property as rate would require voter approval. That is in the Texas Property Tax Code. I do know that instituting the Metro portion of the sales tax required voter approval, so I thought that there was a similar provision for sales tax. Maybe I'm wrong. Also, I thought all that lottery money was supposed to fund education. I wonder what happened to that.
Same thing with our lottery. It was used purely to fund Pre-K & HOPE Scholarship, but now both programs are constantly under risk. Part of it though is the HOPE used to cover your entire tuition at in-state public universities. No idea about what TX does though.
In Texas, the lottery was sold to the public as being for education. However, the funds go into the general treasury. In Georgia, those monies go into a separate fund and subsidizes in state tuition at the state's public universities on a sliding scale depending upon GPA.
The tuition hikes and the deregulation started many years before the recession - it was caused, in large part, by both Bush and Perry cutting taxes. There was no need to raise them - they just needed to not be cut in the first place.
Ok...so what taxes were cut? The state sales tax has been 6.25% as long as I can remember and I cannot recall a property tax decrease. The college tuition issue is a big issue. When I graduated law school 12 years ago, all three years cost me about $45,000. Today the estimated cost of a three year law degree at UH is $138,000.
Unless... there were price controls in place limiting how much those universities can charge for tuition. So, his "preposition" stands.
General time frame: 1999: Bush passed the largest tax cut in Texas history; it was a mix of primarily business tax cuts, some property tax cuts, and some sales tax cuts (exempting more items, creating the sales tax holiday, etc). 2003: Tuition deregulation to help fill a not too surprising budget deficit 2006: Perry passed a property tax cut combined with the new business franchise tax. Not surprisingly, the business tax didn't come close to covering the property tax losses, creating more budget deficits As an example, tuition went up 40% in the 3 years after deregulation was passed: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...as-tuitions-outpace-financial-aid-1847637.php
It doesn't because those rules govern undergraduate levels---and I specifically compared the BCL Oxford offers (a postgraduate degree in law) with the JD (technically a post-grad since you need undergrad studies to begin it). Different rules apply for post-graduate degrees. There's not a pure price cap, and exceptions vary (this is why MSc degrees in finance, for example, charge around 14,000-15,000 pounds).
Thanks Major. That was very helpful. We have to get a handle on our budget and refocus on the things that will strengthen our state. In a state where one third of the students drop out of high school, there is no reason why we should not be making a priority of making sure those students who excelled in high school are not deterred by excessive tuition from getting a college degree.
They will. At this point, tuition rates are outpacing the availability of student loan funds. This is causing an increase in borrowing private student loans. When the inevitable student loan bubble bursts, all hell will break loose.
I agree, it's a bit crazy with how much baggage young professionals in the US have to enter their professional life. I guess that partly it stops them from wasting time and taking it easy, but it's not a healthy system for many.
Not only that, but many middle class families are faced with the reality that they cannot pay for higher education and cannot even borrow enough to make up the difference, particularly for families that have more than me college aged kid. This is much different than it was 20 years ago. It has gotten way out of hand.
The only way to pay for college is to be incredibly wealthy or be incredibly intelligent AND demonstrate a need.
The most disappointing thing about Texas is that there wasn't an open revolt over the education cuts that took place in the last session. We're closing deficits on the backs of future generations and no one seems to give a damn. First it was tuition deregulation and gutting SCHIP. Now its straight up cutting funding for schools. Cant wait to see what they'll do to close the next deficit that pops up.
The cheapest schools are usually UT,A+M, UH and they are jacking up their rates. Even UTSA and UTA are doing the same.
All schools are, but for instance, Macon State where my wife goes is a third the cost of UGA. The prices are rising at similar rates, but lower starting points make them still affordable. They won't be if something isn't done within 5 years though.
This is the one thing that has hurt Texas more than anything else in the last 20yrs. Its a great example of what sounds in theory doesn't always execute well.
Texas Tech is just as expensive as the schools you mentioned. We have a kiddo at Tech. The cost is just absurd. Sam Houston State, for example is slightly less, but not enough less to justify asking the kid to go to a lower ranked program in his field when he is trying to position himself for grad school. It's just damned expensive these days. In state tuition today is as much as out of state tuition was when I was in school.
