The Mariposa County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) has endorsed a higher education tuition/fees rollback and funding resolution being championed by the Placer County Democratic Central Committee.

The resolution calls for tuition costs to be rolled back to 1970 levels, and that funding for higher education also be restored to inflation-adjusted 1970 levels so our colleges don’t have to balance their books on the backs of their students.

Here in Mariposa County, we know how hard it is for our talented students to afford college; they have to take on loans and work a lot of hours to afford it. This means fewer of our young people are able to get college degrees, and once they get them, they struggle to pay off the loans. The current level of tuition and fees is pricing lower income families out of a college education.

From the 19th century to the early 1970's, our legislators created a competitive advantage for California by investing in higher education. This also built a vibrant middle class that grew our economy, and California got back every dollar it invested and more. Unfortunately, this changed in the 1970s when funding was deeply cut and student fees starting increasing.

In August 2014, Standard and Poor released a study showing that a well-educated work force led to a high-wage state, and unemployment for college graduates is one third the overall rate. The study also showed that college graduation rates have stagnated for low- income students. This diminishes upward economic mobility for lower income families for generations to come. The study went on to say that if America was going to compete in the 21st century global market, then it needed to increase the education levels of all of its citizens. "Over the next five years, if the American workforce completed just one more year of school, the resulting productivity gains could add about $525 billion, or 2.4%, to the level of GDP, relative to the baseline."

The full resolution is available at this site: www.bluevaluescoalition.org/tuition.html. We hope that the state Democratic Party will endorse this resolution, and that legislators will work to make our state universities and colleges affordable once again.

The MCDCC represents the Democratic Party in Mariposa County. We are looking for members; if interested, please email: mcdemcc@gmail.com or call 209-742-1010 and leave a message.

More information can be found at: www.mariposademocraticclub.org/CentralCommittee.html.