How a city works...

[Lamplighter]

I really can not believe the lack of political savvy in this...

KATU News
May 29, 2013

Report suggests sales tax on new bikes to fund bike programs

PORTLAND, Ore. – A new report from Portland's City Club suggests
a statewide sales tax on new bikes in Oregon as one way
to pay for bike programs it says are underfunded.

The study says federal funding cutbacks leave bike programs underfunded.
One solution the City Club suggests is a 4 percent sales tax on every new bicycle sold in the state.
<snip>

Yeah, this will work

Oregon has no sales tax... only an income tax based on the federal income tax.

Oregon voters have formally already voted against any sales tax 7 or 8 times.

The rest of the state essentially politically hates Portland (and Eugene).

A large portion of automobile drivers hate bicyclists.

The Portland City Club is the remnants of "old Portland", and
while still influential in Portland-politics, it carries little weight elsewhere.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Their lack of political savvy comes from their world view. Only they, the wise seers, can lead the unwashed away from motor cars, back to the temple of the holy bicycle.

[Lamplighter]

We moved to PDX in the mid-70's, and found life here was different - very different.

The City Council was attempting to cope with cable TV,
so there were onslaughts by the broadcast networks,
the phone company, the electric company, and most importantly,
the unique and "weird" neighborhoods of Portland.

Eventually, the cable was installed, but among the concessions to the neighborhood groups,
the City Council demanded one channel be set aside for "public access" - with NO editing or censorship.

As a result, Portlanders were treated to TV as they had never seen before.
... silliness of all sorts, amateurs of all sorts, evangelists of all sorts,
and NUDITY
--- nudity in the studio and films of public-nudity on beaches, city streets, etc.

To say the least, the public access channel was a guilty-pleasure success.
Many people watched, but only a very few defended publicly
... and so eventually it's policies became compromised and the channel failed.
It was a great social experiment.

But, Larry Nielsen held on, and stayed in the public eye
with his-to-her store-front church and street-evangelism,
all at a time when such complex images and messages
were unacceptable to most of society.

OregonLive.com
Nancy Haught, The Oregonian
6/13/13

Sister Paula Nielsen, Portland's transgender Christian evangelist, tells all

<snip>
Born in Portland, the former Larry Maclean Nielsen often jokes
that she was born "with my mother's features and my father's fixtures."

May 1 marked her 50th year living as a woman, and part
of her anniversary celebration is the publication of her book,
"The Trans-Evangelist: The Life and Times of a Transgender Pentecostal Preacher."

It covers 70 of her 74 years, a childhood of teasing and bullying for being "different,"
her conversion when she was 12 and her gradual understanding of what it means to be a transgender person.
<snip>

[Lamplighter]

This Bill is a bit unexpected to the Oregon public,
but at the same time it is not all that surprising.

Fox News
Associated Press
July 03, 2013

Plan would make tuition free at Oregon colleges

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Oregon Legislature this week gave its final approval
to a bill that might someday allow students to attend public university without paying tuition.

The concept, called Pay It Forward, calls for students to pay a small percentage
of their future income into an education fund to support the next generation of students.
The bill that passed unanimously directs the state's Higher Education Coordination Commission
to develop a Pay It Forward pilot project for consideration by the 2015 Legislature.

Though the timing was coincidental, the bill won final approval on Monday,
the same day that federal student loan interest rates doubled from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.

It's expected to be signed this month by Gov. John Kitzhaber.

Just a week or so ago, the School of Medicine at OHSU,
announced that tuition for existing AND incoming med students
would remain constant.

Tuition rates have been rising, and people are concerned
about the "student loan" debt of graduates that is climbing.
This is particularly true for students of higher (post-graduate) degrees
because the Federal student loan is being cut for them.
(Thanks to the Republican Party)
.
ETA:
Oregon Live
Nick Budnick, The Oregonian
7/1/13

Updated: Oregon Health & Science University to lock in tuition for new, existing students

<snip>
This year, dental students face a 10 percent tuition jump in resident tuition;
while resident medical students face a 2.5 percent increase;
nursing and bachelor's degree students will be met with 5 percent boost in cost.

Specifically, OHSU first year medical students who are in-state residents
will pay tuition of $38,428; including fees the cost jumps to $44,463, according to the university.
Non-residents pay tuition of $53,596 or, with fees, $59,631.

These hikes come after years of increases:
tuition for first-year medical students averaged 6.6 percent hikes
over the previous five years, and first-year dental students averaged 13.5 percent
in the same period, according to figures provided by the university.

The problem is that students with huge debt loads and high interest rates
have little choice but to seek high-paying employment rather than
where they are most needed: underserved rural areas, inner cities and primary care.
So without curbing tuition costs for at least some people,
"we just won't have the spectrum of providers that we need," Mladenovic says.

.

[Clodfobble]

The concept, called Pay It Forward, calls for students to pay a small percentage of their future income into an education fund to support the next generation of students.

When you pay back a loan, it is also "paying a small percentage of one's future income." Is the difference here that it is literally tied to income level, and people in rich careers (Pre-med students) will be paying more back than shitty careers (English majors?) Does this also apply if one is unemployed? Say I'm a young lady who decides to go get myself an MRS degree, knowing full well that as soon as I meet the right frat boy I'm going to settle down, have kids, and never use that Anthropology degree I coasted through... and then I'll never have to pay for it?

[Perry Winkle]

I see those incentives backfiring. People will likely still seek high-paying jobs, they will just get to keep more of it.

[Perry Winkle]

Also, it's easier to do a cost/benefit analysis on a loan. If you have to pay, say 5% of your per annum earnings in perpetuum, you are potentially (definitely, from my experience) taking a much bigger hit than any student loan.

[Lamplighter]

From what I am reading, the issues are along the lines of...
1) If a student can't afford today's tuitions, he/she won't go to college at all.
2) Student loan programs are getting major cuts for graduate degrees
3) On graduation, the student is not in debt with student loans.

Here is one article...

The Pay It Forward solution offers students access to higher education without debt.
Students at public universities and community colleges would pay no tuition up-front.
In exchange, they would agree to pay a small percentage of their income
(1.5% for community college, or 3% for a 4 year school) for 20 years
to “pay forward” the cost of instruction for the next generation of students.<snip>

Over time, the Pay It Forward plan will create a stable funding stream for Oregon public higher education.
As more students graduate and pay in, the fund will grow, allowing more students to participate.

In the article's example, even at an eventual income of $60,000/yr,
the "student" would be paying about the same total as the current student loan debt
(e.g. $1,800 x 20 yrs = $36,000)

[tw]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

In the article's example, even at an eventual income of $60,000/yr, the "student" would be paying about the same total as the current student loan debt

In tandem is the benefit of that education. Listed are some of the worst. How to finance it is analogous to what is being purchased.

13 Colleges That Aren't Worth the Money
and 13 Colleges That Aren't Worth The Money

One college is nearby The Cellar.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

1) If a student can't afford today's tuitions, he/she won't go to college at all.

In my opinion, the entire reason the tuition market is painfully inflated to begin with is because of the big push over the last 25 years that "everyone" should go to college.

Everyone should not go to college. In my imaginary world, college scholarships would be strictly merit-based, with a secondary discrimination based on need, but not before weeding out the dumb ones who also happen to be poor. "Wanting" to go to college isn't enough, in my book.

[Lamplighter]

But that sort of thinking would put Google Search out of business...

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

In my opinion, the entire reason the tuition market is painfully inflated to begin with is because of the big push over the last 25 years that "everyone" should go to college.

And lets admit it, the big four-year universities have been turning into all-inclusive resorts over the past 25 years as well. They have services for anything you would imagine needing and all of that costs money.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Everyone should not go to college.

We desperately need college graduates. But a serious problem (this side of the pond) is developing. Number (by percentage) of college graduates is diminishing. It would be even worse except that girls are going to college in larger numbers.

As a result we now have more 'dumb ass' boys. A majority never learn how to know something. College is supposed to teach one how to think and therefore know. How not to entertain emotions (like a child). How feeling do not make an informed citizen.

A perfect example demonstrated by a light bulb. A light bulb is observed to fail when switched on. That proves power cycling a light bulb causes bulb failure. A complete scam based in junk science reasoning. Because the observer did not see the many other times bulbs burned out. Even ignored the traffic lights that blink all night long with less failures. Only observation 'proved' that bogus conclusion.

Reality. Bulbs are not damaged by power cycling. Because knowledge from observation is classic junk science. Too many, with insufficient education, would not even know why that conclusion was bogus.

We now have more boys who don't even know how to think. Which means the Tea Party and other extremists have a larger pool to recruit from. So it must be good?

[tw]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

But that sort of thinking would put Google Search out of business...

Problem is not scholarships. Problem is college loans provided in greater numbers. Which therefore financed increased tuitions of many 'for profit but we will not teach you anything useful' colleges. Leading that charge were U of Phoenix and Strayer. However the worst offenders have lesser known names.

It goes right back to a fundamental question. What is the purpose of a business. Scumbags, communists, and even the mafia say it is to make a profit. Only fools recite that business school lie. The purpose of every business is - number one - its product.

Many 'for profit' colleges are profit centers. The product is irrelevant. Leaving students to pay off massive debts decades later.

Unfortunately price of college has increased significantly without any demand for better product. For example, where is the increase in professors and basic research? Instead, most money goes into more administrators and new buildings.

Prices went up because so many more college loans were made available. Supply and demand - economics that is taught in college. This 'free money' has also been especially profitable for religious colleges. Tuition increased. They still teach virtually no math or science.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

...Say I'm a young lady who decides to go get myself an MRS degree, knowing full well that as soon as I meet the right frat boy I'm going to settle down, have kids, and never use that Anthropology degree I coasted through... and then I'll never have to pay for it?

That's ok, you will be better edumacated to home school your sprogs, thereby easing the tax burden on your fellow Oregon grinders.