Since before I could walk, I have spent my summers in Swansboro. The slow pace of the town and the warmth of its residents were an indelible part of my childhood. Despite spending nearly a third of my life in this state, my home (according to the IRS) is in Annandale, V.A. This means I have to pay $12,475 more per year to attend the University than a North Carolina resident does.
While I do feel as though I should have some sort of claim to “in-state” tuition, I grudgingly pay my $18,000 per year because this was a choice I made. A choice for “innovation,” one might say.
I could have gone to one of the many great colleges in Virginia, but I decided N.C. State was right for me (we’ll go ahead and ignore the fact that I didn’t get accepted to those great Virginia schools).
But is there any difference between my experience and that of an illegal immigrant — aside from the not having to jump across fences and deserts to get home?
We both unofficially live in the state of North Carolina and neither of us writes a check each year to Gov. Bev Perdue.
And that is why neither me nor any of the illegal immigrants in this country deserve in-state tuition.
While we all must pay taxes on basic consumption items, these dues come nowhere close to the level of income tax paid by residents of this state.
That income tax fuels the North Carolina general fund, which in turn funds 46 percent of our education at the University — tuition itself only pays for 15 percent.
The extra money I pay to go to the University is nothing more than an adjustment for the fact that I didn’t contribute to the 46 percent. So in reality, we all are paying the same amount to go to this school, the funds simply come in through different revenue streams.
If illegal immigrants are granted in-state tuition in North Carolina, as is currently the case in 10 states, N.C. tax payers will in effect be subsidizing the cost of college education for illegal immigrants.
Legal North Carolinians already pay for secondary education and health care for illegal aliens. Why don’t they start paying for college education as well?
On second thought, it does seem awfully American to pay for foreigners’ benefits when there are jobless and hungry citizens of our own country who are hanging on for dear life during this recession.
Perhaps these facts are why I found those protesters at UNC-Chapel Hill last week to be so moronic.
As much as I love a good protest, perhaps this is the French side of me — the demonstrators at UNC failed to understand where education funding comes from.
Illegal immigrants shouldn’t receive in-state tuition because they haven’t paid for it, the same way in which I haven’t paid for it.
Still though, it would be nice for a few more handouts from President Barack Obama. So here’s to hoping he bails me out. My lack of funds almost constitutes a bank of its own.
Let Russell know your thoughts on in-state tuition at [email protected].
