Is Free College for Many New Yorkers a Good Idea?

A number of local officials are speaking up against the plan to send some New Yorkers to college for free. Do you think it’s a good idea?

On Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was joined by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders to propose free college tuition state schools for New York’s middle class families at all SUNY and CUNY colleges.

The Excelsior Scholarship is the first of its kind in that nation. The groundbreaking initiative will cover families making up to $125,000 a year. The current cost for one year at a SUNY school is around $6,400.

“A college education is not a luxury – it is an absolute necessity for any chance at economic mobility, Cuomo said. “We’re providing the opportunity for New Yorkers to succeed, no matter what zip code they come from and without the anchor of student debt weighing them down.”

The Excelsior Scholarship will be phased in over the next three years. The first phase will begin in fall for New Yorkers making up to $100,000 annually, increasing to $110,000 in 2018 and then to $125,000 in 2019.

Officials estimate 940,000 households will be eligible for the program.

"What Governor Cuomo is proposing is a revolutionary idea for higher education," Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said. “It’s an idea that’s going to reverberate not only throughout the State of New York, but throughout this country.”

The plan will cost approximately $163 million per year once fully phased in. Which has some local politician’s pushing back in a state with already high taxes.

“Gov. Cuomo’s proposal to make SUNY tuition free for families who earn below $125,000 is misguided, irresponsible and the kind of nanny-state socialism that perpetuates New York’s image as one of the most expensive states in the nation in which to live and operate a business,” Assemblyman Karl Brabenec stated.

Other local elected officials want more details.

“I have a lot of questions concerning the proposal, not least of which involves the amount of time that will be required for a person to have been a New York resident before receiving the benefit,” State Senator Sue Serino stated. “Further, if we are going to be asking taxpayers to make such a substantial investment in higher education, we need to tie it to an express incentive to ensure that when they graduate, these students stay and work here in New York and invest in our local communities.”

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