Mayor proposes education privilege tax - 1 percent tax on college tuition

[The Straight Story]

Mayor wants students to pay 'fair share'

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl on Monday detailed a 1 percent tax on college tuition to plug a $15 million hole in the city's budget.

The Fair Share Tax is expected to generate $16 million, which would finance a shortfall in the city's pension fund and provide $1 million in sustained annual revenue for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

"We value Pittsburgh's nonprofit community. They are our major employers and a big part of why our economy continues to be strong," Ravenstahl said. "However, we can no longer afford to provide city services to those who are not paying their fair share."

Ravenstahl announced the tax as he proposed a $452 million budget to City Council. The $15 million, combined with an estimated $200 million from leasing the city's parking garages, would put the city's pension fund back on sound footing and keep it from state oversight. Gov. Ed Rendell declared Pittsburgh a financially distressed city in 2003.

The proposed education privilege tax would be paid annually to post-secondary schools by part-time and full-time students who attend school in the city, including colleges, universities, art, business, culinary and trade schools. The schools would hand the money over to the city. It would affect students at more than 30 institutions.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_652409.html

[Jim Sagle]

1. Whadda fuckin' moron. I guess he wants dumb voters because that's how he gets elected.

[Dreamer Tatum]

2. It's a privilege to go six figures into debt to graduate to no jobs?

Fuck that noise.

[Jkid]

3. Apprently this mayor thinks that college education is a privilege.

Education at all levels should be a right.

This is just a stupid tax.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Hmmm, he never read the story about the goose that laid the golden eggs.

Someone needs to catch him up on things.

[pnwmom]

5. Great way to reduce the numbers of those pesky admissions applications.

As if college didn't already cost more than enough -- now let's balance the city budget on the backs of the students.

[1]

6. pfffttt... college students don't vote where they go to school, do they?

i thought they voted where they lived (you know, where they were from.)

i don't know.

either way, i have no problem with this. if you have enough money to go to college, then a few dollars more to help the city where you are experiencing your education shouldn't matter, right?

i'm sure it doesn't matter to college students, who don't pay the bills anyway. PARTY ON! ROCK OUT! *DRINK!* SHOW US YOUR TITS! you know, normal college stuff...

and i do so love how the europeans (and canadians) describe this experience as "university." cluck, cluck!