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Higher Education

1. Free Public Higher Education - Implementation

The Current Crisis:
  • Average Debt: $37,000 per borrower (1.7 trillion total)
  • Tuition: $10k/year (in-state public), and $40k/year (private)
  • Result: Students work 20-30 hours/week (can't focus on studies), and graduate with debt
Solution: FREE TUITION + LIVING STIPENDS

Who Qualifies:

  • Community Colleges: Everyone, no exceptions
  • Public Universities:
    • Free for all residents (not just "low-income")
    • Universal = no stigma and no means-testing bureaucracy

Cost:

  • Community Colleges: $70 billion/year (2-year programs)
  • Public Universities: $80 billion/year (4-year programs)
  • Total: $150 billion/year
  • Funding:
    • Tax endowments >$500M: $20B/year
    • Corporate education tax: $30B/year
    • Financial transaction tax: $50B/year (0.1% tax on stock trades)
    • Federal reallocation: $50B/year (from military, corporate subsidies)

Living Stipends:

  • Students from Families Earning <$150k: $15,000/year stipend
    • Covers: Housing, food, books, and transportation
    • Not loans, not work-study: Just direct payment
  • Cost: 10 million students x $15k = $150 billion/year

2. Student Debt Cancellation

National Policy:

Federal Cancellation:

  • Cancel All Federal Student Debt: $1.6 trillion (one-time)
  • Executive Action: President can cancel via Higher Education Act
  • No Means-Testing: Cancel for everyone (universal = builds coalition)

Private Debt:

  • Government Buyback: Purchase private loans at 30% of value and the cancel all of it
  • Cost: $200 billion (private debt = $130B, buy at discount)

Future:

  • Stay Free: Public universities never charge tuition again
  • Private Universities: If they charge tuition, students are ineligible for federal aid (forces them to lower prices or go out of business)

3. Tax Wealthy University Endowments

Implementation:

Progressive Endowment Tax:

  • $500M - $1B: 2% annual tax
  • $1B - $5B: 4% tax
  • $5B - $10B: 5% tax
  • Over $10B: 10% tax

Who Pays:

  • Harvard: $53 billion endowment = $5.3B/year tax
  • Yale: $42 billion = $4.2B/year
  • Stanford: $37 billion = $1.85B/year
  • Princeton: $37 billion = $3.7B/year
  • MIT: $27 billion = $2.7B/year

Revenue: $40-50 billion/year

Rationale:

  • Tax-Exempt Status: Universities don't pay property tax, income tax
  • But: Sitting on billions while students go into debt (immoral)
  • Use it or Lose it: If not spending on students, pay tax

4. University Accountability

Tuition Caps

Public Universities:

  • Cannot Raise Tuition Faster Than Inflation: Period.
  • Penalty: States cut funding if universities violate cap

Currently:

  • Tuition Increased by 180% (1980-2020): Wages only increased by 20%
  • Unsustainable
Administrative Bloat

The Problem:

  • Administrators Outnumber Faculty: 2:1 ratio (was 1:2 in 1970s)
  • Salaries Bloat: University presidents make $1-2 million
  • "Student Life" Expenses: Luxury dorms, rock walls, and lazy rivers (not education)

The Solution:

  • Mandate: 75% of the budget goes to instruction (faculty, research, teaching)
  • Cut:
    • Administrators earning >$200k (cap at $150k)
    • Marketing budgets (why do public universities advertise?)
    • Luxury amenities (focus on learning, not country club)
Student Outcomes Transparency

Requirement:

  • All Universities Must Report:
    • Graduation rates (by race, income)
    • Employment rates (6 months, 5 years after graduation)
    • Average starting salary
    • Debt levels
    • Student satisfaction
  • Public Database: Prospective students can see outcomes before enrolling

Predatory Program Elimination:

  • If a Program Has:
    • <50% graduation rate
    • <50% employment rate
    • Average debt >$50k with low earnings
  • Shut it Down: Not exploiting students

Example: For-profit colleges (ITT Tech, Corinthian, and the University of Phoenix)

  • 90% of Students Took on Debt, 50% Defaulted, and Many Didn't Finish
  • Government Shut Them Down (2015-2016): But too late, millions exploited

5. Worker Cooperatives in Higher Education

Models:

1. Cooperative Universities:

  • Mondragon University (Spain): Part of the Mondragon Cooperatives
    • Students, faculty, and staff jointly govern
    • Tuition: €1,500/year (vs. $50k U.S. private universities)
    • Curriculum focused on cooperative management, engineering, and education

U.S. Pilot:

  • 10 Cooperative Universities (start small, grow)
  • Governance: 40% faculty, 30% students, 20% staff, and 10% community
  • Curriculum: Cooperative economics, democratic management, and social justice
  • Tuition: Free (publicly funded)

2. University Service Worker Cooperatives:

  • Dining Services, Custodial, and Maintenance = Worker Co-ops
    • Currently: Outsourced to Aramark, Sodexo (exploitative)
  • Workers Buy Services: Form co-ops, contract with universities
  • Wages: $41.25/hour(+COLA) minimum (vs. $12-15 current)

3. Campus Bookstore Cooperatives:

  • Student-Owned Bookstores: Not Follett or Barnes & Noble monopolies
  • Lower Prices: No corporate markup
  • Profits: Returned to students (dividends or scholarships)

6. Democratic University Governance

Currently:

  • Boards of Trustees: Appointed by governors and wealthy donors (not democratic)
  • Students and Faculty Have no Power: Administration makes all decisions

Reform:

Shared Governance:

  • University Senate: 50% faculty, 25% students, and 25% staff
    • Real power: Curriculum, budget priorities, hiring, and strategic direction
  • Student Government: Actual authority (not just "student activities")
    • Control: Student fees, campus policies, and disciplinary procedures

Elected Presidents:

  • University President is Elected: By faculty, students, and staff (not appointed by trustees)
  • Term Limits: 5 years and can be recalled

Transparent Budgets:

  • Publicly Accessible: All spending is disclosed
  • Participatory Budgeting: Students vote on portion of the budget