tuition grant

[Nick Gorton]

"I know this sounds ugly, Nick. I am not some raging conservative,
believe it or not, and I do agree with much or what you say. I don't,
however, think that we should eliminate merit-based scholarships
because we can't find a fair way to measure merit."

Emily simply because you cannot do something perfectly, that does not
mean that you cannot make any attempt. For example, it would be VERY
easy to eliminate those kids who are upper-mid to upper-class from
this entitlement by taking 2 seconds looking at their FAFSA. How is
that wrong? Perhaps you think I am a raging liberal then, but tell me
how it is bad to take money slated to educate children from the top
15% of earners while allowing children in crushing poverty to have no
opportunity at all. The former group can afford to educate their
children - even if its a little hard for some.

But then as much as I could call you a conservative you could call me
a commie-pinko: I don't think being talented should give you a free
ride. I believe what Marx said: to each according to his need, from
each according to his ability. Which is why despite being from the
same class as you (so we're 37-ish) and being a physician the best
vehicle my partner and I have is a 5 year old honda civic, we live in
a 2 bedroom apartment, and still don't have my student loans paid off.
I work only 2/3 time at my job for pay and work 1/3 time pro bono (2
days a week) at a free clinic in San Francisco and do a lot of
medico-legal pro bono work for Lambda Legal etc. And my partner tells
me we donated about 17% of the income from my 'day job' to charity
last year. The point of this is that I'm not saying this as a
'limousine liberal' or as a non-parent who doesn't understand the cost
of college education. I know it sometimes is unpleasant to not have
everything come easy, but I think it conflicts with a lot of the
morals many of us espouse to be willing to take that money away from
kids who had so much less just so that when we graduate, we don't have
$80,000 in student loans. That's what I had coming out of the UNC
system as a student whose family had a contribution of $0 and I think
that was more than fair given what that education has allowed me to
do.

I am sorry that your parents could not afford to send you to Duke or
Cornell, but speaking as someone whose parents couldn't afford to buy
me a book, I am having just a bit of difficulty getting a lot of
sympathy going for your position. If this were not a zero sum game, I
would be all about giving everyone everything possible. But
unfortunately it IS a zero sum game, so every penny that you give to
kids whose parents can otherwise afford it takes away some other kids
chance to go to college AT ALL. Sorry, if it is my decision and it
whether you (or your kids) can afford college *a little easier* or
whether another kid can afford college at all, you better start saving
because the kid who has nothing is going to get the entitlement before
any kid whose parents can afford to send them to school - even if its
hard.

And lastly, I am not talking about MOST of the kids who graduate NCSSM
either. I am suggesting that kids in the top third or so of wealth and
income not get this entitlement. So those hard working middle class
parents will still get this benefit. Every single kid who graduates
NCSSM whose parents are solidly middle class will get tuition. But
kids whose parents are UMC or upper class will have to pay. That's
more than fair and certainly enough to get most of the benefit in
terms of keeping kids in state.

Nick