Why Can't Ohio Do This?

If you click on the link in this title's entry, you can read a story that appeared on www.AlterNet.org about a college student in Maine who got the Maine state legislature to pass a bill helping students with college debt. This quote from the article illustrates how the program works:

The idea was fairly simple: help students pay off their debts if they stay in Maine. Last week, two years later, Bossie's work, along with those of other activists and groups, including the League of Independent Voters, bore fruit when Maine legislators passed the Opportunity Maine Initiative. The measure will give tax credits to help Maine residents pay off their student debt as long as they stay in the state. "Nontraditional" students returning to get their degrees would also be eligible for the credits, as would employers who pay off their workers' student loans as a benefit.

In the past we have thought that Ohio should adopt a program whereby it paid for the college tuition of students who went to college and agreed to stay in Ohio for a period of time after graduation. This program actually seems better because it is geared to those students who graduate. This avoids the whole problem about what to do with students who get the credit but don't graduate or who transfer to a school in another state.

So here's the question: why can't Ohio do something like this?

Ohio & the New Economy: PD Article & Graphic

The Plain Dealer ran an interesting graphic with a story on Sunday, 3.18.2007, about Ohio and its place in the new economy. What was interesting was where Ohio is doing poorly. Two of the areas were workforce education and broadband availability. Both of these problems could be addressed by government, but won't if Republican philosophy is followed.

Here's how they could: make a college and/or technical education much cheaper by increasing government expenditures for higher education and increase the amount of education students get in high school and elementary education. Cut the average size of classes in half, increase teacher pay, and have less administrative positions. Encourage local governments to offer broadband access as part of a public utility system.

Here's why Republican philosophy won't allow such changes: the first would require taxes and the second would allow governments to compete with private providers of broadband connections such as Time-Warner. Both are anathema to the free-market ideologues who have power in the Republican party.

Democrats should study this article and familiarize themselves with the report that the article's authors studied. This report should be talked about in the 2007 off-year elections and used as a platform for local office. If you are running in a municipality or township that doesn't have good broadband penetration, use this report to come up with ideas for rectifying that condition. Use that when you talk to voters. Make your campaign about bringing your community into the 21st. century so our children and our grandchildren can compete with Indian and Chinese children.
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Click on the link in this entry's title to read the PD article.

Advice to Progressives: Dream Bigger Dreams!

Katha Pollitt of the Nation magazine has advice for liberals: dream bigger dreams! Advocate universal healthcare for all, cheap or free higher education, and a minimum wage of $9.00 an hour and indexed for inflation. Build a movement and stop worrying about finding a leader. If you have the right movement, leaders will emerge and come to you. It is a provocative article and can be read by clicking on the link in the title heading.