SanderS,Clinton and affordable College
A4 Editorial, Monday, April 25, 2016, Bangor Daily News
Founded in 1889
SuSan Young Editorial PagE Editor
george DanbY Editorial PagE assistant
Matthew Stone oPinion PagE Editor
P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, Maine 04402-1329 Tel. 990-8000, fax 433-1048, email address [email protected]
SanderS, Clinton
and affordable College
T
he Democratic candidates for president are the only two major party candidates left who have laid out in any detail their plans for making college more affordable and reducing student debt. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wants American students to be able to attend public colleges and universities tuition-free. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has a more targeted and multi-layered approach to college affordability and student debt reduction. The question for both Democratic candidates is, do their approaches to college affordability help the students who need it most? Students from economically disadvantaged families are less likely than their higher-income peers to enroll in college. But tearing down barriers to enrollment isn’t enough. Once enrolled, low-income students are less likely to stay in college and finish, meaning many leave college after investing substantial resources and taking out loans, never to see a return on that investment in the form of a degree. In Maine, the college enrollment gap between lower- and higher-income families has grown in recent years. Only 48 percent of economically disadvantaged students who graduated from high school in 2014 had enrolled in college by the subsequent fall, according to research by the Mitchell Institute. Seventy-three percent of their higher-income peers did. And that 25-point gap was four percentage points larger than it was six years before with Maine’s 2008 high school graduates. The state’s college persistence trend also is a discouraging trend. Of Maine college-going high school graduates from the class of 2012, 83.1 percent returned for their sophomore year — a drop from Maine’s 2007 peak of 84.7 percent, according to the Mitchell Institute. While the persistence figures aren’t broken down by income level, more of those leaving likely come from lower-income families. One analysis using data from 2000 found that even academically gifted lowincome students — those who scored at least 1200 on the SAT — were half as likely to finish college as their peers of similar academic talent at the top of the income scale. So, what do low-income students need? It’s not as simple as free tuition for all.
To start, a free tuition program doesn’t target the resources where they’re most needed. An analysis by the Brookings Institution’s Matt Chingos concludes that students from the top half of the income distribution would see most of the benefit from Sanders’ free public college plan. Chingos estimates, based on annual tuition costs from 2011-12, that students from the top half of the income distribution would see $16.8 billion in benefits compared with $13.5 billion for students from the bottom half. Much of the discrepancy is because of the fact that higherincome students are less likely to attend lower-tuition institutions such as community colleges. Covering the cost of tuition and fees doesn’t cover another major cost center that poses more of a burden on low-income students: living expenses. On his website, Sanders pledges to require that public universities meet 100 percent of the financial need of their lowest-income students and expand work study opportunities. Clinton offers more detail and an approach targeted to low- and middle-income students. Her college affordability program would rely on grants to states that pledge to ensure that no student attending a public, four-year college or university has to borrow money to cover tuition. Pell grants — a primary source of federal aid available to low-income students — wouldn’t factor into the calculation of a student’s ability to pay tuition, meaning a low-income student could instead apply that aid to defray living expenses. The Clinton plan is designed to target more resources to lower- and middle-income students than to students at the top. Research on student retention points to the importance of coupling financial assistance with academic support in which students are required to participate. Plus, it helps if the financial assistance is conditioned on students maintaining a minimum grade point average and a nearly full-time course load, which increases the likelihood of completion. Since a state like Maine can’t afford to waste the investment it makes in any student, any college affordability plan should be judged by whether it targets resources to those who need the most help and stresses tactics proven to improve student retention.
other voices
a volatile, ChaotiC libya
L
ibya, population 6.2 million, now has three governments; President Barack Obama has admitted that not foreseeing the aftermath of U.S. military intervention there in 2011 was his “worst mistake.” Libya is now also an ironic gift that doesn’t stop giving. Its absence of effective government means that its long Mediterranean coastline continues to serve as a base for uncontrolled, sometimes deadly African and Middle Eastern migration to Southern Europe. The huge arsenal of weapons Libya accumulated under former leader Moammar Gadhafi has since spread all over the Middle East and Africa, fueling killing in many countries. Finally, and most relevant today, the absence of an effective, single government there is producing chaos on the ground. The vacuum has permitted Libyan and other elements adhering to the Islamic State to establish themselves there, with access to its oil wealth and to its strategic position, with borders on Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia. Of the three “official” governments claiming control, the Council
of Deputies sits at Tobruk in the east. The General National Congress is in Tripoli, the former national capital. The most recently created is the Government of National Accord, backed by the United Nations and United States. It was installed in Tripoli earlier this month, arriving by ship, headed by a prime minister, Fayez Sarraj. There are also numerous tribal and city-based authorities, backed by armed militias, across the country. Bringing them together, under some sort of central control, is a task so far beyond the reach of any or all of the more official governments. As far as Obama’s admitted mistake in 2011, anyone who knew much about Libya could have provided him counsel that would have prevented the breakup of Libya and, certainly, any U.S. role in bringing that about. Libya is divided into many tribes and regions. It was ruled from independence in 1952 until Gadhafi’s takeover in 1969 by a king who also had an Islamic leadership role. The absolutist Gadhafi was in control from 1969 to 2011. Arab Spring or no Arab Spring, democracy wasn’t going to flower in Libya. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 21)
Letters to the editor Kenduskeag race I enjoyed the Bangor Daily News’ article on the 50th Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race and the winner, Trevor MacLean. The only problem is this article was the same as the last few years. I thought it being the 50th running of this race the BDN would have stepped out of the box and not just done a cookie cutter report. It is the biggest sporting event in the Bangor area, with 921 participants and 493 boats. I think it’s worth more than just seven paragraphs about one kayaker. Why not talk with one of the four kids under 14 years old that placed in the top 25 boats overall? Interview Irving Gilbert who has run the race 40 times and won his class this year or Shelley Koenig and Lani Love, the only tandem women’s team to finish the race in under three hours. There are so many more stories that could have been told. This could have been a much better article. Joseph Burke Newburgh
Override solar veto LD 1649, the solar energy bill designed to power more Maine homes and businesses with 100 percent made-in-Maine energy, is the result of many weeks of analysis, argument and compromise. Here are five reasons why lawmakers should vote to override a Gov. Paul LePage veto of LD 1649: First, contract rate control safeguards guarantee that solar capacity is built for the lowest possible cost and never imposes additional costs on ratepayers. Second, 20-year contracts undervalue solar installations, as independent studies show it can produce 80 percent of initial power even after 40 years.
Third, solar energy is fully funded by individual and business investment. No state tax credit or other subsidies for solar exist and LD 1649 does not create any. You don’t have to choose solar for yourself, and you don’t pay if your neighbor does. Fourth, solar energy producers must pay for distributing all energy they generate. Fifth, the Office of the Public Advocate says LD 1649 will save ratepayers more than $100 million over the life of the program. I thank Waldo County Reps. Christine Burstein, James Gillway, Erin Herbig, MaryAnne Kinney and Joan Welsh for supporting LD 1649. And I urge their Waldo County colleague, Rep. Karleton Ward, to join them and support an override of a veto. Senate President Mike Thibodeau, we’re watching to see if you will lead on this issue or support a LePage veto. Come on, Maine; let’s put our sunshine to work. Andrew Stevenson Belfast
Write to us
Letters must be 250 words or fewer and include a full name, town of residence and daytime phone number. OpEds may be 700 words. Letters may be edited or rejected for clarity, taste, libel and space. If a letter or OpEd is published, submissions by the same writer will not be considered for 60 days. Letters may be sent to letters@ bangordailynews.com. OpEds may be sent to [email protected] or P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402-1329.
Scrap I-395 connector As a former Brewer city councilor and a representative to the I-395/Route 9 Connector committee, I cannot believe that this project is going forward. Maine Department of Transportation
Deputy Commissioner Jon Nass thinks that 16-year-old data still is good data to use. Having spent eight years in connector meetings, I know that most routes were dismissed as not viable. Finally, a solution came in the form of the “Ring route,” which was initially approved by both the committee and the Department of Transportation. It was shelved because of the lack of funds, and the project went underground. Then an unknown person not only got the preferred route tossed out but got one of the worst routes certified as preferred. Officials from the Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration not answering simple questions is unacceptable. It’s their way and the highway. I now feel the only route to stop this boondoggle is to call our two senators and representatives and insist our highway funds be better spent on fixing up existing, crumbling roads and bridges. Manley DeBeck Jr. Brewer
Drawn to Maine I have never been to Maine but the BDN and the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race have drawn me toward Maine next April. I found out about the Kenduskeag race by seeing online a photo of a golden retriever swimming with a paddle. That photo and reading the BDN online every day has me hooked on the great state of Maine. I couldn’t make it this year because of work, but I watched live coverage of the race from my hotel room on the banks of the Mississippi River (the Kenduskeag’s big brother) in Savanna, Illinois. Maine has a unique event there, and I can’t wait to come and try it. Gary Fruland Newark, Illinois
.COMMents Why is it the government’s Editorial, “Democrats had a paign money from the same job to fix people’s poor choices? chance to actually reform wel- source as Republicans. — hophead3 — Benito Incognito fare, but they squandered it”: This is entirely preventable This is simply a bill all legislators can point to during their without government intervenre-election campaign. It helps tion. People don’t need money Democrats thwart Republican to have sense. — feingold-in-2016 criticism that they’re weak on welfare abuse. JFK in his inaugural — Dirty Lew speech described a trumpet This may force those that acting as a “call to bear the smoke, get tattoos and gamble burden” against a “struggle away their welfare money to against the common enemies actually consider looking for of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.” I think work. Life changes are hard. JFK would have said that — oneshotwon The Democrats sure did squanboth the people and the govder the opportunity. They gave Editorial, “A widening life ernment (made up of those into the petty theft aspect of welfare reform and totally ignored expectancy gap between rich people) are parts of the soluthe corporate aspect of it. But and poor, and the conse- tion to these problems. — scolbath then again, they get their cam- quences for Maine”:
Putting common-sense purchase restrictions on TANF funds is all well and good, but watching our politicians congratulate themselves and pat each other on the back for passing legislation that does absolutely nothing to address any of the underlying issues that contribute to job loss and hunger is pretty pathetic. — stringah
doonesbury
Garry trudeau
Founded in 1889
SuSan Young Editorial PagE Editor
george DanbY Editorial PagE assistant
Matthew Stone oPinion PagE Editor
P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, Maine 04402-1329 Tel. 990-8000, fax 433-1048, email address [email protected]
SanderS, Clinton
and affordable College
T
he Democratic candidates for president are the only two major party candidates left who have laid out in any detail their plans for making college more affordable and reducing student debt. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wants American students to be able to attend public colleges and universities tuition-free. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has a more targeted and multi-layered approach to college affordability and student debt reduction. The question for both Democratic candidates is, do their approaches to college affordability help the students who need it most? Students from economically disadvantaged families are less likely than their higher-income peers to enroll in college. But tearing down barriers to enrollment isn’t enough. Once enrolled, low-income students are less likely to stay in college and finish, meaning many leave college after investing substantial resources and taking out loans, never to see a return on that investment in the form of a degree. In Maine, the college enrollment gap between lower- and higher-income families has grown in recent years. Only 48 percent of economically disadvantaged students who graduated from high school in 2014 had enrolled in college by the subsequent fall, according to research by the Mitchell Institute. Seventy-three percent of their higher-income peers did. And that 25-point gap was four percentage points larger than it was six years before with Maine’s 2008 high school graduates. The state’s college persistence trend also is a discouraging trend. Of Maine college-going high school graduates from the class of 2012, 83.1 percent returned for their sophomore year — a drop from Maine’s 2007 peak of 84.7 percent, according to the Mitchell Institute. While the persistence figures aren’t broken down by income level, more of those leaving likely come from lower-income families. One analysis using data from 2000 found that even academically gifted lowincome students — those who scored at least 1200 on the SAT — were half as likely to finish college as their peers of similar academic talent at the top of the income scale. So, what do low-income students need? It’s not as simple as free tuition for all.
To start, a free tuition program doesn’t target the resources where they’re most needed. An analysis by the Brookings Institution’s Matt Chingos concludes that students from the top half of the income distribution would see most of the benefit from Sanders’ free public college plan. Chingos estimates, based on annual tuition costs from 2011-12, that students from the top half of the income distribution would see $16.8 billion in benefits compared with $13.5 billion for students from the bottom half. Much of the discrepancy is because of the fact that higherincome students are less likely to attend lower-tuition institutions such as community colleges. Covering the cost of tuition and fees doesn’t cover another major cost center that poses more of a burden on low-income students: living expenses. On his website, Sanders pledges to require that public universities meet 100 percent of the financial need of their lowest-income students and expand work study opportunities. Clinton offers more detail and an approach targeted to low- and middle-income students. Her college affordability program would rely on grants to states that pledge to ensure that no student attending a public, four-year college or university has to borrow money to cover tuition. Pell grants — a primary source of federal aid available to low-income students — wouldn’t factor into the calculation of a student’s ability to pay tuition, meaning a low-income student could instead apply that aid to defray living expenses. The Clinton plan is designed to target more resources to lower- and middle-income students than to students at the top. Research on student retention points to the importance of coupling financial assistance with academic support in which students are required to participate. Plus, it helps if the financial assistance is conditioned on students maintaining a minimum grade point average and a nearly full-time course load, which increases the likelihood of completion. Since a state like Maine can’t afford to waste the investment it makes in any student, any college affordability plan should be judged by whether it targets resources to those who need the most help and stresses tactics proven to improve student retention.
other voices
a volatile, ChaotiC libya
L
ibya, population 6.2 million, now has three governments; President Barack Obama has admitted that not foreseeing the aftermath of U.S. military intervention there in 2011 was his “worst mistake.” Libya is now also an ironic gift that doesn’t stop giving. Its absence of effective government means that its long Mediterranean coastline continues to serve as a base for uncontrolled, sometimes deadly African and Middle Eastern migration to Southern Europe. The huge arsenal of weapons Libya accumulated under former leader Moammar Gadhafi has since spread all over the Middle East and Africa, fueling killing in many countries. Finally, and most relevant today, the absence of an effective, single government there is producing chaos on the ground. The vacuum has permitted Libyan and other elements adhering to the Islamic State to establish themselves there, with access to its oil wealth and to its strategic position, with borders on Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia. Of the three “official” governments claiming control, the Council
of Deputies sits at Tobruk in the east. The General National Congress is in Tripoli, the former national capital. The most recently created is the Government of National Accord, backed by the United Nations and United States. It was installed in Tripoli earlier this month, arriving by ship, headed by a prime minister, Fayez Sarraj. There are also numerous tribal and city-based authorities, backed by armed militias, across the country. Bringing them together, under some sort of central control, is a task so far beyond the reach of any or all of the more official governments. As far as Obama’s admitted mistake in 2011, anyone who knew much about Libya could have provided him counsel that would have prevented the breakup of Libya and, certainly, any U.S. role in bringing that about. Libya is divided into many tribes and regions. It was ruled from independence in 1952 until Gadhafi’s takeover in 1969 by a king who also had an Islamic leadership role. The absolutist Gadhafi was in control from 1969 to 2011. Arab Spring or no Arab Spring, democracy wasn’t going to flower in Libya. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 21)
Letters to the editor Kenduskeag race I enjoyed the Bangor Daily News’ article on the 50th Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race and the winner, Trevor MacLean. The only problem is this article was the same as the last few years. I thought it being the 50th running of this race the BDN would have stepped out of the box and not just done a cookie cutter report. It is the biggest sporting event in the Bangor area, with 921 participants and 493 boats. I think it’s worth more than just seven paragraphs about one kayaker. Why not talk with one of the four kids under 14 years old that placed in the top 25 boats overall? Interview Irving Gilbert who has run the race 40 times and won his class this year or Shelley Koenig and Lani Love, the only tandem women’s team to finish the race in under three hours. There are so many more stories that could have been told. This could have been a much better article. Joseph Burke Newburgh
Override solar veto LD 1649, the solar energy bill designed to power more Maine homes and businesses with 100 percent made-in-Maine energy, is the result of many weeks of analysis, argument and compromise. Here are five reasons why lawmakers should vote to override a Gov. Paul LePage veto of LD 1649: First, contract rate control safeguards guarantee that solar capacity is built for the lowest possible cost and never imposes additional costs on ratepayers. Second, 20-year contracts undervalue solar installations, as independent studies show it can produce 80 percent of initial power even after 40 years.
Third, solar energy is fully funded by individual and business investment. No state tax credit or other subsidies for solar exist and LD 1649 does not create any. You don’t have to choose solar for yourself, and you don’t pay if your neighbor does. Fourth, solar energy producers must pay for distributing all energy they generate. Fifth, the Office of the Public Advocate says LD 1649 will save ratepayers more than $100 million over the life of the program. I thank Waldo County Reps. Christine Burstein, James Gillway, Erin Herbig, MaryAnne Kinney and Joan Welsh for supporting LD 1649. And I urge their Waldo County colleague, Rep. Karleton Ward, to join them and support an override of a veto. Senate President Mike Thibodeau, we’re watching to see if you will lead on this issue or support a LePage veto. Come on, Maine; let’s put our sunshine to work. Andrew Stevenson Belfast
Write to us
Letters must be 250 words or fewer and include a full name, town of residence and daytime phone number. OpEds may be 700 words. Letters may be edited or rejected for clarity, taste, libel and space. If a letter or OpEd is published, submissions by the same writer will not be considered for 60 days. Letters may be sent to letters@ bangordailynews.com. OpEds may be sent to [email protected] or P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402-1329.
Scrap I-395 connector As a former Brewer city councilor and a representative to the I-395/Route 9 Connector committee, I cannot believe that this project is going forward. Maine Department of Transportation
Deputy Commissioner Jon Nass thinks that 16-year-old data still is good data to use. Having spent eight years in connector meetings, I know that most routes were dismissed as not viable. Finally, a solution came in the form of the “Ring route,” which was initially approved by both the committee and the Department of Transportation. It was shelved because of the lack of funds, and the project went underground. Then an unknown person not only got the preferred route tossed out but got one of the worst routes certified as preferred. Officials from the Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration not answering simple questions is unacceptable. It’s their way and the highway. I now feel the only route to stop this boondoggle is to call our two senators and representatives and insist our highway funds be better spent on fixing up existing, crumbling roads and bridges. Manley DeBeck Jr. Brewer
Drawn to Maine I have never been to Maine but the BDN and the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race have drawn me toward Maine next April. I found out about the Kenduskeag race by seeing online a photo of a golden retriever swimming with a paddle. That photo and reading the BDN online every day has me hooked on the great state of Maine. I couldn’t make it this year because of work, but I watched live coverage of the race from my hotel room on the banks of the Mississippi River (the Kenduskeag’s big brother) in Savanna, Illinois. Maine has a unique event there, and I can’t wait to come and try it. Gary Fruland Newark, Illinois
.COMMents Why is it the government’s Editorial, “Democrats had a paign money from the same job to fix people’s poor choices? chance to actually reform wel- source as Republicans. — hophead3 — Benito Incognito fare, but they squandered it”: This is entirely preventable This is simply a bill all legislators can point to during their without government intervenre-election campaign. It helps tion. People don’t need money Democrats thwart Republican to have sense. — feingold-in-2016 criticism that they’re weak on welfare abuse. JFK in his inaugural — Dirty Lew speech described a trumpet This may force those that acting as a “call to bear the smoke, get tattoos and gamble burden” against a “struggle away their welfare money to against the common enemies actually consider looking for of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.” I think work. Life changes are hard. JFK would have said that — oneshotwon The Democrats sure did squanboth the people and the govder the opportunity. They gave Editorial, “A widening life ernment (made up of those into the petty theft aspect of welfare reform and totally ignored expectancy gap between rich people) are parts of the soluthe corporate aspect of it. But and poor, and the conse- tion to these problems. — scolbath then again, they get their cam- quences for Maine”:
Putting common-sense purchase restrictions on TANF funds is all well and good, but watching our politicians congratulate themselves and pat each other on the back for passing legislation that does absolutely nothing to address any of the underlying issues that contribute to job loss and hunger is pretty pathetic. — stringah
doonesbury
Garry trudeau
