Coase Colored Glasses

The Salt Lake Tribune published an article yesterday regarding a law that I did not even know existed.  Apparently in 2002 the Utah state legislature passed a bill that allowed all undocumented immigrants that graduated from a Utah high school to pay in-state tuition at state colleges.  It didn’t matter if the student and/or parents were in the process of gaining citizenship either, all that mattered was that they graduate from a Utah high school.  As I read this I could see the reasoning behind the law.  It was forward thinking in trying to educate the lower class of society by making education more affordable.  As a result this could lower the crime rate and improve the standard of living for that person who chose to gain an education.  It would also better society by helping to educate a person who otherwise wouldn’t be educated, and in turn helping to create them into a person who contributes to society as opposed to burdening society.  It sounds great doesn’t it? That is until the unseen affects are uncovered.  Its great to make education available to those who can’t afford it by offering a government subsidized education (in-state tuition), but do you offer that to undocumented immigrants who don’t pay taxes? Is that fair and just to offer the same education at the same price to a citizen of the state who pays taxes and to an undocumented immigrant who does not?

This hasn’t really been much of an issue until recently.  With a slumping economy and education funds being cut from the state’s budget can the state afford to continue to offer this to undocumented immigrants?  Take for example USU, who has already made drastic cuts, cutting out the philosophy department, unpaid furloughs being taken by the staff, and the list goes on, can they afford it? With still another $8 million in budget cuts the University has yet to apply, and more staff and faculty to lose their positions in the future can the state really afford to give a subsidized education to those who don’t pay taxes which support the very education they are given a discounted rate for? The unseen affect is that allowing undocumented persons to receive an in-state price allows more undocumented persons to afford an education, which means that more will attend an in-state school, which by virtue of budget cuts and downsizing faculty, fills up the classroom.  This leads to a higher student to teacher ratio which leads to a lower education overall for all students at the college.  Not to mention that with caps in enrollment at certain colleges, by allowing more undocumented persons to attend school at a discounted price it will leave out those who would like to attend that are citizens and who do pay taxes.  My point is that the unseen affect of some of the citizens not being able to gain an education because of this law probably wasn’t evaluated closely enough when the law was passed.  But now that the affect is being seen Utah is unsure whether they should get rid of the law.  It is simple really they wouldn’t allow me into Sam’s Club to buy their goods without having a membership which I pay a yearly fee for, so why should we allow those without citizenship to receive a discounted education if they don’t pay the price like the rest of us?

Here are some links