Pittsburgh To Tax Students

societyofrobots writes "Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has proposed taxing college and professional students for the privilege of receiving an education in the city. The proposed tax will charge students in the city at a rate of 1% of their yearly tuition — which, at Carnegie Mellon, would mean roughly a $400 tax (PDF) on most students. As the tax proposal hit local media outlets this week, the mayor repeatedly emphasized the burden that college students have placed on city services, and the need for students to pay their 'fair share.'"

Comments

Typical liberal thinking

[Jeff_Birt]

I live in a small town that grows in population by 1/3 when the local university is in session. Students pour a lot of money into our local economy through paying rent, eating, shopping, working, etc, etc. This is just a typical liberal money grab. Next thing around the corner, pay Obama for the privilege of receiving Gvmt health care.

Re:Happning in Providence Too

[MrHyd3]

You truly are a glittering colossal jewel of ignorance.

So you're saying, the mayor is taxing students because the rich want to keep their money? Fantastic!

Listen kid, it's the rich ppl who hire you or these skulls full of mush once you decide to grow up and work in the real world.

It's the rich ppl who provide goods & services to skulls full of mush consumers.

Over taxation as you stated leads me to believe you're finally starting to catch on, but on the WRONG side of the argument.

Re:Student effect on economy

[BitZtream]

They do. Both CMU and Pitt have private police forces. And you don't think that things like Pitt games bring venue to the city? The city seems to think so.

By private, do you mean seperate divisions of the city police force? Thats the way it is in most areas. NCSU for instance has the NCSU police force, all self contained, except that its part of the county Sherrifs office.

Or by private do you mean, private as in not part of the existing government but still funded by tax dollars for citizens?

Do you know what endowment means? I don't think you do.

Universities don't have to charge that much, 99.9% of the staff is over paid. About the only ones who aren't are the poor janitors that have to put up with all the shit the arrogant students give them.

Universities regularly (not targeting Pitt or CMU in this particular instance mind you) spend money on things like sports, so they can get money from alumni to 'fund' the school, of course the money they get from the alumni is generally given with the clear understanding that it will only be used to promote the football program. So while they spend some money to get more than that back, what they get back doesn't go to funding education, it goes to funding things that aren't really part of education proper.

There are two groups of people that think these schools have it hard. The ignorant, and the people who work at them.

I'm not against helping educate our people, but any one who thinks the current University system in America is an efficient implementation of the system s an idiot. They are wasteful, inefficient, self serving bureaucracy who's only purpose is to over pay those working at them. 99% of the people working at these schools simply care about how to get paid more money, and care nothing about actually educating the students in any useful way.