Means Testing for DC TAG

[Anonymous]

Is this some kind of joke??? A 450k cutoff is hardly a means test.

If DC really wants to support public colleges for all, they child try negotiating some sort of agreement with one state (maybe MD?) to get DC students in state tuition. That would be a better route than grants for millionaire kids.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone middle class with small kids in DC today really think that TAG would be around for their kids? I just assumed it wouldn't be, and have been planning accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone middle class with small kids in DC today really think that TAG would be around for their kids? I just assumed it wouldn't be, and have been planning accordingly.

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone middle class with small kids in DC today really think that TAG would be around for their kids? I just assumed it wouldn't be, and have been planning accordingly.

This

There are many families who hope to use this program once their child reaches 12th grade. Some people aren't fortunate or have the means to save for college like most of the DCUM community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it's hard to cry about people who make >$450k failing to qualify. Obviously, they can afford whatever college their kid can get into. How many people does this really affect? BUT I oppose it. Do states means test their residents for in state tuition? No. It sounds like the beginning of the end of TAG. I just missed having that option for college & I'll be pissed if my kids don't have it, either.

You are sorely mistaken. 450 comes to about 250 after tax. That's great, don't get me wrong, but college kills that. A school with a sticker price of 60k (all-in) is a huge hit to that 250 number. One kid, still okay for four years. Multiple kids? Try again.

Incomes around 300-500k are hit the hardest by college. Not enough income to pay without feeling a very serious constraint but too much for any financial aid.

So true. Tuition is out of control, and I don't want my kids to have huge loans when they graduate. The tuition at state schools is around $40k on average, some well over $50k. I know no one feels badly for people earning between $300k and $450k but why should DC residents not have any public options for college? The money, especially if you have more than one child, helps. Frankly, every little bit does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it's hard to cry about people who make >$450k failing to qualify. Obviously, they can afford whatever college their kid can get into. How many people does this really affect? BUT I oppose it. Do states means test their residents for in state tuition? No. It sounds like the beginning of the end of TAG. I just missed having that option for college & I'll be pissed if my kids don't have it, either.

You are sorely mistaken. 450 comes to about 250 after tax. That's great, don't get me wrong, but college kills that. A school with a sticker price of 60k (all-in) is a huge hit to that 250 number. One kid, still okay for four years. Multiple kids? Try again.

Incomes around 300-500k are hit the hardest by college. Not enough income to pay without feeling a very serious constraint but too much for any financial aid.

We have had an income far below that and have had no trouble saving enough for our children's college. College isn't supposed to be paid out of current income. It is a known expense to be saved over decades.

[Anonymous]

This proposal has been around for some time. I figured it was only a matter of time before it was actually implemented. As a result, I didn't count on it (just like I don't count on Social Security - it will be nice to have, but I had better plan like it won't be around for me).

As a high income household, I find it very hard to whine or complain about the change, just like I supported raising federal taxes in higher incomes. I do think the program faces the risk that the income limits could be lowered further. But I hope that now that income limits have been tightened, that we might raise the cap above $10,000 so that families who do need it can receive grants commensurate with its original purpose -- namely closing the gap between in-state and out-of-state tuition rates. Sadly, $10,000 is not enough in most instances anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, it's hard to cry about people who make >$450k failing to qualify. Obviously, they can afford whatever college their kid can get into. How many people does this really affect? BUT I oppose it. Do states means test their residents for in state tuition? No. It sounds like the beginning of the end of TAG. I just missed having that option for college & I'll be pissed if my kids don't have it, either.

nobody is crying about people who make that much -- nor should they be -- but you should be worried if this is one more factor encouraging people that make that much to leave the city and then losing all of that tax revenue. Another $80-$120K that a family may have to pay may be a factor btw/ that person deciding to move to VA or stay in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it's hard to cry about people who make >$450k failing to qualify. Obviously, they can afford whatever college their kid can get into. How many people does this really affect? BUT I oppose it. Do states means test their residents for in state tuition? No. It sounds like the beginning of the end of TAG. I just missed having that option for college & I'll be pissed if my kids don't have it, either.

nobody is crying about people who make that much -- nor should they be -- but you should be worried if this is one more factor encouraging people that make that much to leave the city and then losing all of that tax revenue. Another $80-$120K that a family may have to pay may be a factor btw/ that person deciding to move to VA or stay in DC.

Honestly the way in-state tuition is being chipped away in many states, I wouldn't be surprised if states moved to means testing for their own residents soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it's hard to cry about people who make >$450k failing to qualify. Obviously, they can afford whatever college their kid can get into. How many people does this really affect? BUT I oppose it. Do states means test their residents for in state tuition? No. It sounds like the beginning of the end of TAG. I just missed having that option for college & I'll be pissed if my kids don't have it, either.

You are sorely mistaken. 450 comes to about 250 after tax. That's great, don't get me wrong, but college kills that. A school with a sticker price of 60k (all-in) is a huge hit to that 250 number. One kid, still okay for four years. Multiple kids? Try again.

Incomes around 300-500k are hit the hardest by college. Not enough income to pay without feeling a very serious constraint but too much for any financial aid.

So true. Tuition is out of control, and I don't want my kids to have huge loans when they graduate. The tuition at state schools is around $40k on average, some well over $50k. I know no one feels badly for people earning between $300k and $450k but why should DC residents not have any public options for college? The money, especially if you have more than one child, helps. Frankly, every little bit does.

Then have your kids take a year or two off between high school and college and work/save money rather than take out loans. But there really isn't any reason why federal taxes should be subsidizing education for the elite.

[Anonymous]

I agree that, on principle, if states aren't means testing for in-state tuition, DC TAG shouldn't be means testing, either.

But in practice, as someone below the threshold now but could be at or above it when my kids are going to college, I'm fine with means testing (and potentially missing out on the benefit). In the end, this is about applying limited resources where they're most needed.

[Anonymous]

Big picture -- DC does not have a public higher education system option, unlike every state in the Union. There are no means tests for in-state tuition at any state schools, even if income would impact potential financial aid.

Just because the bar is set somewhat high does not mean that a bar should be set at all. The purpose of DCTAG is to provide DC residents with a comparable public/regional school option that does not otherwise exist. It's not intended as a giveaway, and it pales in comparison to the enormous federal subsidies the feds already provide to higher education in various forms (loans, grants, trusts, etc). DC students get hit twice -- once by not have the lower cost public option and secondly by being forced to pay a premium out out of state schools. DC TAG offsets this inequity. It should be retained, if not expanded to keep up with the inflationary costs of out of state tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They will lower the threshold and then we are screwed.

This. It is $450K in year one. Next year it will be $400K, Then $360. And so on. Hopefully, my PK4 kid can get through before it gets down to my level.

[Anonymous]

TAG falls outside the mandate of universal education, so I'm OK with this.

If you earn more than $450,000 and don't feel your child is being challenged enough by the public schools, you have the means to go private. Since your kid is smart enough to get TAG resources anyway, admission shouldn't be a problem. Just pay the tuition.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:TAG falls outside the mandate of universal education, so I'm OK with this.

If you earn more than $450,000 and don't feel your child is being challenged enough by the public schools, you have the means to go private. Since your kid is smart enough to get TAG resources anyway, admission shouldn't be a problem. Just pay the tuition.

This is the DC Schools forum, not VA Schools forum. "DC TAG" is not "TAG".