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[GK86]

Link.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced a plan Tuesday morning to offer free tuition at state colleges to hundreds of thousands of middle- and low-income New Yorkers, seizing on a popular liberal talking point on the eve of national Republican ascension.

Under the governor's plan, any college student who has been accepted to a state or city university in New York — including two-year community colleges — will be eligible provided they or their family earn $125,000 or less annually.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, unveiled his proposal at an event at LaGuardia Community College in Queens alongside Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who had sought their party's presidential nomination with a similar stance last year, arguing that student debt was crippling the prospects of generations of young Americans.

Called the Excelsior Scholarship, the funds are envisioned as a way to complete tuition payments by supplementing existing state and federal loan and grant programs.

Mr. Cuomo hopes for a quick start for his idea, with a three-year rollout beginning in the fall, though it will require legislative approval, a potential snag when the governor and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been at odds over a pay raise and other issues.

It was not immediately clear how the program would be paid for, though the administration said the state already provided nearly $1 billion in support through its tuition assistance program; those awards are capped at $5,165, and many of the grants are smaller.

If the plan is approved, the Cuomo administration estimates the program would allow nearly a million New York families with college-age children, or independent adults, to qualify. The estimated costs of the program, when fully put in place in 2019, would be $163 million, though the administration acknowledges that estimate could be too low — or too high — depending on participation.

Current tuition at four-year State University of New York schools for state residents is $6,470; at two-year community colleges the cost is $4,350. Costs for City University of New York schools are approximately the same.

Mr. Cuomo, a centrist with rumored presidential ambition, has tracked left on a series of issues during his second term, championing a higher minimum wage and paid family leave, though he continues to face criticism from some progressive groups over sometimes working closely with Republicans who rule the State Senate.

 

[XenodudeX]

Pretty bold. Hope it works.

 

[Zeus Molecules]

FML you know how much I owe to CUNY and SUNY right now......

Ahh well I might as well go yo the CUNY law school then....

 

[Crayons]

Wow, hope this goes through.

I was born just a few years too early for this to affect me though, unfortunately :/

 

[iMAGINATION]

Every state should do this

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Awesome.

Good to see progressive policy being put in place on the state level.

Like Romneycare this can be used for future federal policy.

Bernie and his ilk should try to do more of this is the few states dems control and run on it in 2018

 

[Frozenprince]

If there's no age limit on this it's really, really great.

 

[Arkeband]

If only this had some kind of retroactive portion to alleviate the massive debt everyone already has.

My wife and I probably won't pay off our debt for another decade, we could have already bought a house and been paying property taxes, instead we can only afford to rent an apartment, which means the state gets less of our dollar.

 

[ColdPizza]

SUNY Geneseo grad here, represent!

 

[Skellig Gra]

Every state should do this

Yes and it should be open to people of all income levels.

 

[Jarmel]

But what about debt forgiveness?

 

[DragonSworne]

Yes and it should be open to people of all income levels.

Yes, and government should also regulate the cost of higher education as well.

 

[Trey]

If only this had some kind of retroactive portion to alleviate the massive debt everyone already has.

best you can hope for is a tax credit if you refinance, I would surmise.

 

[Yaboosh]

Going by the income of your parents just seems so bad when tons of parents want nothing to do with paying for their kids college tuition.

 

[Kalentan]

Entering my last semester at a SUNY school for now, I'm going to guess it's too late for me.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Going by the income of your parents just seems so bad when tons of parents want nothing to do with paying for their kids college tuition.

That plus why should it matter? Everyone should be entitled to exactly the same level of education regardless of how much or how little their parents make.

 

[Sectorseven]

Free grad school too?

 

[ColdPizza]

That plus why should it matter? Everyone should be entitled to exactly the same level of education regardless of how much or how little their parents make.

Also, if you opened it up to everyone, more people (regardless of income) may feel inclined to move to NYS, thus providing more tax revenue, and spurring more businesses to move here.

 

[And_Gignac]

Berniesus, his impact.

 

[emag]

Yes and it should be open to people of all income levels.

I think the primary aim is to aid families who could not otherwise send their children to post-secondary education (without crippling debt), not to give handouts to families who can already afford it.

I would like to see an expansion of vocational schools and perhaps a scholastic merit component to this aid to keep costs under control (and discourage some perverse incentives that will harm both students and institutions).

 

[CrimsonSquall]

That plus why should it matter? Everyone should be entitled to exactly the same level of education regardless of how much or how little their parents make.

It shouldn't, but your approach is much harder to pass

 

[captmcblack]

If there's no age limit, hoooooooooooly shit.

 

[Arkeband]

Going by the income of your parents just seems so bad when tons of parents want nothing to do with paying for their kids college tuition.

Rich parents means they can technically afford to send their kid to college without the kid himself collecting massive debt, whereas poor parents don't have that luxury.

You don't want to be handing the same exact benefits to rich people as poor people, that's fundamentally stupid and the reason why a flat tax only makes sense to Ben Carson.

 

[VendettaRed07]

Honestly, if people want the sorts of things that Bernie promised this election, young people need to get involved in state level politics. Far more is possible here than I think people realize; because you know, young people never engage at the state and local level..

Nothing is moving on the federal level any time soon.

 

[Futureman]

Pittsburgh has a free college tuition program called the Pittsburgh Promise. Way smaller scale obviously but it seems to be doing well. Hopefully NY can implement this successfully.

 

[Big Blue]

Baruch College grad here, as cheap as they are, the CUNYs are very competitive. Baruch already has a 27.7% acceptance rate.

 

[Future]

Awesome.

Good to see progressive policy being put in place on the state level.

Like Romneycare this can be used for future federal policy.

Bernie and his ilk should try to do more of this is the few states dems control and run on it in 2018

Truth. This is how you prove or disprove shit working

 

[ZeroMaverick]

Link.

Man. I almost went to The New School for my MFA before I found out how much tuition would have been. Damn. I so would have gone.

 

[RBH]

This is fantastic and long overdue.

Hope it's the start of a trend that envelops other states.

 

[Skellig Gra]

I think the primary aim is to aid families who could not otherwise send their children to post-secondary education (without crippling debt), not to give handouts to families who can already afford it.

I would like to see an expansion of vocational schools and perhaps a scholastic merit component to this aid to keep costs under control (and discourage some perverse incentives that will harm both students and institutions).

Oh that is definitely the aim I just don't agree with the approach, it's the same a giving low income people credits to buy healthcare. It does very little to address the overlying issue.

It shouldn't, but your approach is much harder to pass

Agreed.

 

[DragonSworne]

I guess if you don't file as a dependent you should get the tuition break.

The articles says "if you or your parents".

 

[Big Blue]

Yes and it should be open to people of all income levels.

Absolutely not. Not until the kids in Brownsville receive the same quality education as the kids in Bedford. The top CUNYs are very competitive as is.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Ugh, my daughter wouldn't be able to take advantage of it cause we "make too much" and 125k household in NY ain't shit. Cost of living high as fuck.

 

[DragonSworne]

Ugh, my daughter wouldn't be able to take advantage of it cause we "make too much" and 125k household in NY ain't shit. Cost of living high as fuck.

Looks like you can get around that by having your daughter get a job and file separately, or am I wrong on that?

I'm guessing the deduction on a dependent is higher than the tuition cost though. :/

 

[RPGCrazied]

Sounds nice, but with Trump and goons coming into power, I don't see this getting much Republican support(who will control us for the next at least 4 years).

 

[Big Blue]

Sounds nice, but with Trump and goons coming into power, I don't see this getting much Republican support(who will control us for the next at least 4 years).

This is done at the state level.

 

[ColdPizza]

Sounds nice, but with Trump and goons coming into power, I don't see this getting much Republican support(who will control us for the next at least 4 years).

This is a state-level proposal...

 

[ZeroMaverick]

GAF, I'm actually feeling ultra bummed right now that I don't live in NYC.

 

[ColdPizza]

Ugh, my daughter wouldn't be able to take advantage of it cause we "make too much" and 125k household in NY ain't shit. Cost of living high as fuck.

$125k in WNY is comfortable living.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Ugh, my daughter wouldn't be able to take advantage of it cause we "make too much" and 125k household in NY ain't shit. Cost of living high as fuck.

This is what I'm saying. Arbitrary income limits are not a good implementation, especially in NY where you have NYC throwing everything off.

Absolutely not. Not until the kids in Brownsville receive the same quality education as the kids in Bedford. The top CUNYs are very competitive as is.

We aren't just talking about Brooklyn, its the whole state.

 

[Hexa]

What if you make 130k?

 

[Goose_Se7en]

CUNY John Jay grad right here. That's awesome, I hope this goes through this would afford many people who can't pay for school to do it. Especially those folks that are in between. Not too broke to get a full ride but not too rich to be able to pay.

 

[Big Blue]

This is what I'm saying. Arbitrary income limits are not a good implementation, especially in NY where you have NYC throwing everything off.

Sorry, if you make $125k, then you can afford CUNY/SUNY tuition.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Ugh, my daughter wouldn't be able to take advantage of it cause we "make too much" and 125k household in NY ain't shit. Cost of living high as fuck.

CUNY is $6,330 (I assume in NYC?) for instate. If you're making 125k that's not unaffordable or would require very small loans. I mean you'd have to be living a crazy lifestyle if that's unaffordable.

And I'm always annoyed at people saying $100k isn't anything in new york. The Median income for a family of 4 is 50k. Meaning you're well above most New Yorkers who are surviving with much much less.

 

[Big Blue]

This is what I'm saying. Arbitrary income limits are not a good implementation, especially in NY where you have NYC throwing everything off.



We aren't just talking about Brooklyn, its the whole state.

It's just an example. The same can be said for inner city Buffalo, Albany, Yonkers, etc.

 

[mattwhite924]

Tennessee has been doing something similar. Not sure of the exact details, but apparently it's been working out really well for them, so hopefully this turns out just as well or better!

 

[Goose_Se7en]

Absolutely not. Not until the kids in Brownsville receive the same quality education as the kids in Bedford. The top CUNYs are very competitive as is.

I agree 100fuckingpercent. Shit should not be open to all, only the folks who stand to truly gain from it. I hope CUNY uses stringent policies and the schools contiually check to see no one is trying to game the system.

Bushwick boy right here, real Bushwick none of that gentrified Bushwick ish.

 

[Future]

What if you make 130k?

You are screwed

I went through this for financial aid. My parents were just over the amount of income to get federal student loans. But it's not like they were expert savers that used that extra income to only help me. So I ended up getting a bunch of private loans and still got screwed at the end

What people really want and need is reduction of cost REGARDLESS of income. This will help those truly broke but not a lot of working families

 

[Skellig Gra]

Sorry, if you make $125k, then you can afford CUNY/SUNY tuition.

That kind of blanket statement is not true. If you are single dude making $125k then sure. But, what if you have 3+ kids? And are supporting your elderly mother? And you are paying back your own huge ass student loan?

I agree 100fuckingpercent. Shit should not be open to all, only the folks who stand to truly gain from it. I hope CUNY uses stringent policies and the schools contiually check to see no one is trying to game the system.

Bushwick boy right here, real Bushwick none of that gentrified Bushwick ish.

This is a whole other issue though. We know the entire US public school system is a joke, and the poorer areas get fucked the worst. But by limiting the number of people who get a quality education you are also limiting the number of potential future educators to these same areas.

 

[RinsFury]

Wow, sounds amazing for those that qualify. It should also be opened up to everyone regardless of family income, and past student debt should be forgiven, but this is a strong first step.