DFL Education Foundation

Where's the beef?

In a bold new proposal, Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has proposed giving the top 25% of Minnesota high school students two free years at the state's public universities (University of Minnesota or MNSCU systems).  This proposal clearly borrows from the Citizens League innovative study on higher education that asserts that all of the state's students should be receiving K-14 education. 

This proposal has several significant merits:

• It offers academic-based scholarships
• It reduces the financial burden of higher education
• It provides a (slightly) means-tested benefit
• It helps retain top talent in-state

However, the proposal lacks a key detail - who will pay?  Given the governor's historical commitment to "no new taxes," some other government service will likely pay the price if the state picks up the tab.  Will it be transportation, already significantly underfunded? Health care for the poor, which has already endured several budget cutbacks?  Alternatively, this proposal also could be the ultimate unfunded mandate, requiring the U of M and MNSCU to cover the cost of thousands of top students in an era of rapid tuition increases.

The governor should be lauded for a bold education proposal, but citizens should keep a careful eye on who will be asked to pick up the tab.

JFF

It's time to pay the road bill

The 35W-Crosstown construction project is facing yet another delay, this time because the state’s controversial funding plan would have contractors fronting as much as $90 million in construction funds during the project. The Star Tribune’s editorial board notes that this scheme is indicative of a much larger problem – MnDOT and the state are simply too short on cash to be pursuing adequate transportation construction. With no gas tax increase since 1988, despite growing population, traffic, and inflation, MnDOT simply cannot keep up with growing travel needs.

Instead of asking contractors to essentially loan construction money to the state, what about the HOT lane alternative, currently employed in the MnPass system on I-394. While the Citizens League published information from a recent study by the Humphrey Institute, noting that the toll lane does help improve traffic flow, the Star Tribune explained in a January 20^th article that “the experimental project…is not covering its costs…[and] at the current rate of collection, tolls won't begin to cover operations for more than a decade,” much less new road construction.

Since the credit card is maxed out and private businesses have no desire to bail out MnDOT, it’s probably time for the taxpayer to resume responsibility for their roads.

JFF