Plan will help pull people out of poverty

Last week, amid the many reactions to Gov. (Michelle) Lujan Grisham’s proposal of free college tuition for New Mexico residents, there was much pearl clutching from the usual suspects in the “it can’t be done” crowd lamenting the program as either a giveaway or a political stunt.

Let me take this opportunity to dispel some of the concerns that have been raised while also stating that this proposal has the potential to be a game changer not only for students in New Mexico, but also for the state’s long-term economic future.

Let’s try for a moment to not think of free college as a conservative vs. liberal issue. In a modern economy powered by innovation, intellect and middle-skill jobs requiring at least some kind of a post-secondary credential, increasing access to affordable higher education is not a “nice to have,” it’s a “need to have.” In fact, a 2016 report by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce found that more than 90% of the new jobs created post-Great Recession required some kind of a higher education credential, including short-term workforce-certificate credentials. If New Mexico is going to hope to be competitive over the next 20 or 30 years, it must open more pathways to higher education and commit to training people on a mass scale. Even in conservative places, such as Dallas County, government, business, schools and higher education have come together to offer a program that is not too dissimilar to what Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is proposing. Dallas County Promise aims to cover the last dollars students need after scholarships and other forms of financial aid are applied.

The beauty of New Mexico’s proposal is it is not limited to four-year institutions or students who are of traditional college age, 18-22. This is an important nod to one of the state’s saddest facts regarding the large population of under-skilled working adults who are struggling to make ends meet and support their families: You can’t pull children out poverty if the parents do not have the skills to get better jobs. And parents can’t get those skills if they can’t afford to access even the basic levels of higher education. Like it or not, we live in a world where an 18-year-old can no longer just walk into a career-wage job fresh out of high school and make enough money to build wealth and support a family over the course of a lifetime. This is about creating more taxpayers, as the last, best strategy for long-term social mobility and wealth creation is access to higher education. And, having a better-educated populace will make New Mexico a more attractive destination for private investment and jobs.

So, the question shouldn’t be whether a poor state such as New Mexico can afford such a program; it should be whether New Mexico can afford to not offer such a program.

Rather than immediately shut these ideas down to score pointless political points, let’s have the conversation and discuss the merits – not just because free college is a nice thing, but more from a recognition that we are all a part of a global economy that demands more well-trained workers and professionals.