Opinion
A4 | Tuesday, May 7, 2019 | Peninsula Clarion
CLARION P
E N I N S U L A
Serving the Kenai Peninsula since 1970 Jeff Hayden Publisher ERIN THOMPSON......................................................... Editor RANDI KEATON....................................... Circulation Director FRANK GOLDTHWAITE......................... Production Manager
What others say
Warren misses the mark with student loan plan The bidding war for votes
in the Democratic presidential primary escalated quickly this week with a proposal by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to wipe out student debt, courtesy of the taxpayers. Warren’s proposal, put forward not in proposed legislation but in a blog post, would cancel up to $50,000 of student debt for every American with household income under $100,000. Individuals with household incomes up to $250,000 would also get debt relief, though not quite as much. She says this will benefit 95% of the 45 million Americans who are carrying student debt. The proposal is estimated to cost $1.25 trillion over 10 years. Warren says the money would come from a plan she previously proposed — a tax on accumulations of wealth collecting 2% of $50 million or more of household net worth, and an extra 1% on $1 billion and up. Assuming nobody leaves the country over it, the tax would hit about 75,000 families and raise $2.75 trillion over 10 years. Warren also wants to spend $100 billion expanding Pell grants to cover non-tuition expenses, and make public colleges tuition-free. The wealth tax might raise more legal challenges than revenue. The Constitution prohibits any national “direct” tax not collected evenly from the states, based on population. The income tax was unconstitutional until the Constitution was amended in 1913. An additional tax on “wealth” that has already been taxed as income might run into trouble at the Supreme Court. But even without debating the legality of a wealth tax, the idea of canceling student debt by having taxpayers cover it is terrible. Start with the problem of fundamental fairness — student debt would be canceled for all incomeeligible borrowers with outstanding loans without regard to financial need, so even people who are working and able to make regular payments would get the bailout. On the other hand, people who did not take out loans they couldn’t afford to repay, and people who already repaid their loans, would be out $50,000 for making responsible financial decisions. Then there’s the problem of moral hazard: If the taxpayers pay the debts of everyone with outstanding student loans, how will that affect the decisions made by current students thinking about their choices for financing higher education? What’s the message? Borrow as much as you can and wait for the debt to be canceled during the next presidential primary campaign? The proposal certainly doesn’t encourage restraint in tuition increases. Universities considering whether to raise tuition could reasonably believe there’s no need to hold the line when the new policy is to step in and generously pay off old student loans with somebody else’s money. It’s also troubling to hear a sitting United States senator so casually proposing the confiscation of some people’s property so it can be given to other people. Warren has also put forward a proposal for a “Real Corporate Tax” that would collect $1 trillion over 10 years as well as an increase in the estate tax. Student debt weighs on millions of Americans and on the economy more broadly as people find it more difficult to obtain credit or make major purchases. Serious proposals for new repayment plans and eventual debt forgiveness deserve consideration and debate in this presidential race. But Warren’s plan doesn’t. — The Orange County Register, April 26
Letters to the Editor:
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UA fully committed to the student experience A laska V oices J im J ohnsen This time of year, many Alaskans are focused on Juneau. That makes sense given the important decisions being made in our capitol, including funding for education from pre-school through to the University of Alaska. While we are concerned about the uncertainty around our budget, we are not uncertain about our commitment to those who really matter to all of us at the University of Alaska — our students. That’s because this is the time of year when thousands of UA graduates will cross a stage, receive their diploma, and move out into the world. We celebrate these impressive men and women and their achievements at every level — from occupational endorsements to doctorates — and I am proud of each and every one of them for their success. Earning a workforce endorsement or college degree requires hard work and dedication, and it is the university’s job to make the student experience as valuable, rewarding and efficient as possible. We’re not always perfect, but we are committed to providing an exceptional experience for our students as they prepare for their chosen profession and for success in an increasingly competitive world. To enable prospective students to explore the entire UA system for the program best suited to their interests we’ve created an accessible website to open all the options available at UA. Through this new virtual gateway — myfuture. alaska.edu — prospective students can create a profile and explore programs at any or all of UA’s campuses. Regardless of whether a student is new to higher education or has attended before, myfuture.alaska.edu provides information on choosing a degree, transferring credits, navigating programs, finding financial
support, and other resources to help them on their higher education journey. Along the way, our students will find opportunities for real world experiences both inside and outside of the classroom that are unique to Alaska and made possible by our many partnerships with local employers. Pilot training, nursing and mining internships, and more are all a part of the UA experience. In Anchorage, UAA students in our Data Science and Artificial Intelligence program will soon be able to participate in an academic partnership with one of our state’s premier financial management firms. In Fairbanks, UA partners with the mining industry — a major driver of the Alaska economy. Teck Red Dog asked the university for help on mineral recovery and water remediation issues, and we responded. Multiple mines also partner with UA on federal grant research, which has led to the development of the nation’s first mill operator occupational endorsement program, and a mill simulator for training. In Kenai and Delta, our Mining and Petroleum Training Service [MAPTS] program, in partnership with scores of businesses, has provided more than 100,000 Alaskans with training and development or new occupational skills to meet the growing need for highly skilled resource development workforce. The university has a long history of serving both the educational needs of students and the workforce needs of the state through career and technical training. We’ve reduced tuition in more than 300 of these courses to encourage more Alaskans to gain these valuable skills. These programs are also ideal for employers looking to cost effectively develop employees’ skills and for individuals looking to change careers or increase their credentials. These are just a few examples of our commitment to the state and its goal of 65% of working-age Alaskans having a postsecondary credential by the year 2025. To reach this goal, we are committed to serving all students: those new, returning, or continuing their post-secondary education. And we are commit-
ted to doing so in innovative ways, including affordable, high-quality online programs. UA looks to the future with optimism and vision. So let me give you a sneak peek at what UA might look like in 2040. At www.alaska.edu/UA2040, we visualize that future. The interactive website demonstrates how UA puts its complete focus on meeting our students’ educational interests through innovative programs that meet needs and create opportunities for a strong future for Alaska. UA is working hard to modernize, to be more user-friendly and accessible to students and employers in all parts of the state including updating our administrative functions. In early May, we announced a redesign of our human resources services by consolidating four administrative human resources offices into one. A single HR office with key staff at each university will improve service and reduce costs through process standardization, improvement, and automation. Despite year after year of funding cuts from the state, the University of Alaska is strong. We are the state’s largest source of a skilled workforce, from nurses, accountants and engineers to educators and project managers. We lead the world in Arctic research and we serve Alaskans all across the state with practical knowledge about agriculture, fish processing, and a host of other topics that are important in our daily lives. Yes, the university has many challenges, including uncertainty about our state funding. But as Alaskans have done for literally thousands of years, we face our challenges with certainty in our commitment to provide our people the skills, the knowledge, and the drive to build the Alaska we all want. So while we await decisions from Juneau, I ask that you join your university in celebrating our graduates with confidence that they are prepared to lead the way to Alaska’s future.
very slow moving project that has been going on for over 18 years — a public boat launch along the 36 Mile Funny River collector road infrastructure. A public boat launch on our side of the Kenai River is absolutely needed. The benefits are clear. For example do you know that: There are 16 public boat launches on the north side of the Kenai River drainage. Except for the city of Soldotna’s Centennial Park, there is not one public boat launch along the south side of the Kenai River drainage. There are 2,153 platted residential lots and a variety of business here, and the number of full-time residents is growing very quickly now that natural gas is available. The Funny River Chamber of Commerce and Community Association Board of Directors formally endorsed the absolute need for a public boat launch in September 2004 as recommended in the Economic Development Plan for the community Public bank fishing along the Funny River Road corridor has become very limited to almost nonexistent because of the closure of bank fishing by the state, and without a public boat launch you must drive to the lower river to bank fish. The most promising site for a public boat launch is, and has always been,
where the 146-acre Hansen Ranch property was, which is now owned by the state and now also closed to all bank fishing as it was believed in 2004 that all that was necessary was to improve the existing boat launch site that had been in continuous use since 1947. And most importantly, access to this state-owned site would not impact upon any established subdivision and, with minor improvements, you could launch your boat off current if the entrance to the launch site was directly across from the Bird Golf Course through the “old horse pasture.” Yes, off current, not like the Pillars or Kasilof. The way things are now is not RIGHT. We as a community need to stand up, get organized and say enough is enough. My community deserves the same infrastructure as that provided in the lower Kenai and the Kasilof Rivers with new and improved and public boat launches. As a community we need to have legal access to a safe boat launch. In summary, as a community we need start making “noise” to our elected officials to get this project off of dead zero while the state continues to throw up every excuse and obstacle it can generate or facilitate to simply wear us down and hope we just die and go away.
Jim Johnsen is the president of the University of Alaska.
Letter to the Editor Time for a boat launch in Funny River What’s Wrong With This Picture? As a member of the Funny River Community for the past 40-plus years, I have been privileged to know and learn from the few remaining original pioneer builders of this area. They had the rare can-do way about them, along with an untiring spirit to get things done that improved the community here for everyone. Our beautiful community here in Funny River has developed through the years — to the extent that we are now living in the most sought-after place to make a home on the peninsula. Just look at the things that have been done to improve our way of life: • Community center building with later expansions • New church • New fire station • Natural gas • Convenience store • Golf course • Fish guiding services These things did not just happen. A lot of effort and heated “battles” were involved. And because of that can-do attitude and get-things-done spirit that live on in many of our younger residents, we won; we improved our way of life. However, we now find ourselves in a
— John Grunza, Funny River Road