Publisher: Tuition is a voluntary payment, not a tax

State Sen. Lydia Jackson seems to think if state universities and colleges raise tuition, it will be a tax on students, says Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister. The Shreveport Democrat said last week that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s plan to give colleges the option to raise tuition and fees would be taxing students’ aspirations and not going after the “people who are producers in our economy.” The publisher points out that this claim discounts the fact that students have a choice not to pay tuition and instead go to another school. “Those college grads who are now ‘producing’ are reaping the fruits of their labor. They have sowed, and now they reap,” McCollister says. Read the full column here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.