Quote:
Originally Posted by wxjay
I personally like Mayor Cicilline, but his recent proposal of a tax on college students in the city is ridiculous and could cost him big points. Those college students provide a lot of business for pubs and stores, especially on the East Side. I think it's a mistake to make college education even more expensive in RI than it is, even if it is for private universities.
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I don't think this would cost Cicilline votes whatsoever. College students don't necessary vote, it's city residents who do...many of which are property owners. It is ridiculous for colleges like Brown to have these multi-billion dollar endowments and remain tax free when the rest of the city is struggling. These colleges benefit from the police and fire departments as well. Look at the way many of these colleges have spread out their campuses over the years; Johnson & Wales bought up much of downtown, the old Outlet building. The entire corner of Weybosset and Dorrance is owned by J&W, for awhile it seemed like anything that wasn't bolted down was being bought up by J&W, Roger Williams Univ or Brown Univ and thus becoming tax free.
People in this state are really not understanding how severe the defecit really is. Cicciline tried once before to have the colleges pay a fair share in taxes and the academics used all their wisdom to wiggle their way out of it and succeeded. Now, he has this new proposal which would be state wide. Think about colleges like Bryant University which has increased its tuition by about 35% within the last 10 years, and they get away with it because they continue to increase recruitment of foreign students which btw artificially inflate the tuition cost for American students.
Now, Rhode Island colleges and universities are threatening to buy up land that will become available once the route 195 overpass has been torn down. Imagine, all this viable land which should be sold to taxable business, could end up in the hands of the colleges. Brown owns so much of the east side, taking over more and more residences and businesses every year. Also, it should be noted that the vast majority of those who graduate, end up leaving the state anyway.
Students don't necessarily contribute very much to a local economy. Most do not have the funds, and often times contribute to crimes such as disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace with all their parties, loud music and so forth. These students don't think anything of all the litter they throw out their car windows either. I lived near R.I. College and Providence College, and truthfully the area was a zoo.
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