CCAP has launched a new policy series on higher education reform called Perspectives. Its first issue, on the financial restructuring of education, concludes with “a modest proposal”:
What’s a tax policy that provides incentives for a population educated for the 21st Century? A tax policy as powerful as the mortgage interest deduction for home ownership? Not free PhDs for all, but just the basics. Defining education is possible. Our proposal: A tax policy that ensures that 90% of U.S. residents, by the time they are 20 years old, can pass the AP exams in English Language and Composition and in Statistics. That will put everyone on a path of their own choosing. Revising tax policy for private university contribution is one means of realizing this goal.
Modest? Bold and sweeping, I would say.