University funding: LibDems are trying to benefit lower earning households. Labour are trying to benefit the upper middle earning households
photo credit: ChicagoGeek
I have been reading a few excellent posts on Ed Miliband’s proposal regarding university funding or “tuition fees” as it is called in, arguably inaccurate, shorthand.
Graeme Cowie on Predictable Paradox has put together an excellent deconstruction of the proposal entitled: Ed Miliband’s Tax Cut for Rich Graduates.
On Program your mind 2, Lee Griffin has an excellent post called The art of pledging: Ed Miliband and tuition fees.
John Hemming MP, who has a brain the size of Asia, sums it all up beautifully in a brief post:
TweetThe news that Labour support the increase in tuition fees to 6K at the lower end, but not the higher end to 9k is an odd piece of news.
Basically under the coalition scheme the graduates in the bottom half of earnings are not affected by this proposal. Those who would benefit are those who earn in their life time more than the 52nd percentile.
In fact many of these would hardly be affected (those at the bottom end) and it is the higher earners that really benefit, but not the top earners.
This is an interesting political placing. We are trying to benefit lower earning households. Labour are trying to benefit the upper middle earning households.
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2 Responses to “University funding: LibDems are trying to benefit lower earning households. Labour are trying to benefit the upper middle earning households”
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Burbler-in-chief
Hemming’s salary percentiles are for the general population, not graduate incomes. The coalition tuition fee plans hit graduate middle-income earners the hardest with those on low salaries paying less and those on high salaries also paying less (not just as a proportion of their income) as a result of early payment and interest avoidance. Given that most people who go to university aspire to end up on such middle incomes (which is a good thing as it enables those from poor backgrounds to better themselves through education) then the coalition’s plans hit those (most common) aspirations the hardest (the people worst off are those that are likely to end up on career salaries in the range 30k-40k). Capping the fees at 6k helps those middle income earners and is a very good thing as it will help the MAJORITY of graduates, not just those in the top 52nd percentile as Hemming incorrectly stated.
Capping at 6k re-balances the burden across the income percentiles away from the coalition’s plans that disproportionately hit middle income earners and destroy the aspiration of the majority that go to university.
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