<p>Corbett</a> to propose 20% to 30% funding cuts for Pa. state universities</p>
<p>This is so ridiculous. I believe PA already has the lowest state support for Higher Ed. PSU is most expensive in-state tuition in country with Pitt at number 2. Corbett is an extremist. Reasonable Republicans and Democrats know that education is of primary importance to economic growth and success.</p>
<p>Agreed. How about some Marcellus shale money to help out at the state level?</p>
<p>If Pitt saw this coming, it might explain what appears to be fewer full tuition scholarships, which cost more each year, in favor of set amounts.</p>
<p>No new taxes and no tax increases. That was the platform the Governor ran on and was elected. There will probably be some compromise on the “proposed” budget before the legislature approves it but the PA voters were VERY clear that they did not want an increase in THEIR taxes.</p>
<p>Bring in shale money and fix the education funding shortfall. No new taxes on citizens, just corporations. Really SIMPLE.</p>
<p>It’s also a matter of choices. Higher ed was cut sharply while the governor found money for additional state troopers and corrections saw no decrease.</p>
<p>if we had more funding for education, maybe we would not need so many police and prisons!</p>
<p>@aglages…not everyone in PA voted for Corbett. And, it’s not like he ran on a platform of cutting education budgets.</p>
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Ah yes…tax someone else…just not me. Real SIMPLE. Might account for why PA has such a stellar reputation for a place for corporations to do business and why the tax revenues in this state are shrinking.
Nope…not everyone. Just the majority and that’s what counts in a democracy. The good news is that you’ll have another shot in a couple of years to vote for a candidate that won’t keep his campaign promises.
No…he didn’t. He also didn’t run on a platform of NOT cutting education budgets. Don’t forget that last year’s education cuts were primarily related to the Federal government (Democratic President) not re-newing their aid as opposed to Gov Corbett cutting existing state aid.</p>
<p>@agagles- you made it sound as though there was overwhelming support by voters for Corbett’s agenda- just remember 45% of PA residents did vote for Onorato.</p>
<p>Also- we can’t necessarily assume that people voted for Corbett on the single issue of no tax increases, either…Corbett differentiated himself on other hot button issues near and dear to the hearts of conservative voters in rural PA like gun control and gay marriage.</p>
<p>Everyone wants the government to do stuff, but nobody wants to pay for it. Just like the guys with the “Get government out of my Medicare!” signs.</p>
<p>Typical.</p>
<p>Compare Pitt or PSU in state tuition $ fees with UNC Chapel Hill or NC state - they are more than double. If I was a job hunter with a family (say in a high demand field) and had a job offer in each state, expensive higher education would lead me to pick NC (or any number of other states). The accessibility of education is the one area conservative and liberal economists agree is most important.</p>
<p>President Nordenberg has issued a response to the budget cuts which can be read here…</p>
<p>[Facing</a> the Specter of Enormous Budget Cuts | Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg | University of Pittsburgh](<a href=“http://www.chancellor.pitt.edu/news/facing-specter-enormous-budget-cuts]Facing”>In the News | Office of the Chancellor | University of Pittsburgh | University of Pittsburgh)</p>
<p>The total amount of this year’s proposed state funding cut to state-owned and state-affiliated colleges, state need-based grants and community colleges is approximately equal to another number in Corbett’s budget. That cut in expenditures is very close to the proposed cut in one of the taxes on businesses. The colleges are being cut to pay for one tax cut.</p>
<p>southeastmom, - comparing North Carloina to Pennsylvania, the job hunter might also say - look at that 7.75% state income tax in North Carolina compared to that 3% in Pennsylvania! In the long run, I’m a lot better off in PA, even with the difference in college tuition.</p>
<p>The problem is that since PA taxes corporations so much, that there is no job growth in the state, thanks to PA’s 10% coporate income tax (compared to NC’s 6.9%).</p>
<p>Yup, PA has transferred the tax burden from individuals to corporations… and the corporations have stayed away. Result - no job growth in PA.</p>
<p>Overall tax burden is lower in NC as property taxes are less</p>
<p>These are separate questions; how much money to collect and what to spend it on. He proposed huge education cuts in consecutive years; the Governer is both anti-tax and anti-education.</p>
<p>The Pitt web page response seems weak to me. Wait for a new commission to report back in a year or more? I wonder if they can maintain different in-state and out-of-state tuition rates. I wonder if they are thinking about going back to fully private. That would be a big jolt. However, if their out-of-state rates already reflect the true cost, they can still be competitive with private schools and still have UPMC.</p>
<p>The Commonwealth’s appropriations are not even currently covering the full cost of the in-state tuition discounts that Pitt is handing out, so my guess is that out-of-state costs do represent the real cost. Any additional cuts though are going to slice into the in-state tuition discount.</p>
<p>Pitt is luckier in some ways than PSU and Temple because it has a much healthier endowment that it can direct to subsidizing some tuition costs. That’s how it ends up on all the “best value” lists while the other two do not.</p>
<p>There are rumors about Penn State discussing trying to go private, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Pitt was talking about eventualities as well. The decision might be being made for them though. <5% of the budget supported by the state essentially makes them only “public” in name.</p>
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I didn’t make it “sound” anyway other than what it was…the **majority<a href=“more%20than%2050%”>/b</a> voted for Gov Corbett…for whatever their reasons. No tax increases WAS a highly promoted issue on Gov Corbett’s platform. However I am open to the possibility that the anti gun control and gay marriage voters were secretly Democrats that were actually in favor of more tax increases.</p>
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Exactly right! But the liberal democrats in this state will continue their usual mantra of more taxes on corporations and more handouts to those paying the smallest amount of taxes and using the largest amount of state services. Perhaps if we cut some more of the “welfare” programs we’d have enough money in the state budget to fund higher education for everyone.</p>