higher education funding Archives - Louisiana Budget Project

January 18, 2018

Fiscal cliff fix cannot wait

Louisiana’s higher education officials have a clear message for lawmakers: a solution to the fiscal cliff is needed, and it’s critical that it happen in February rather than June.

Number of the Day

48,800- Number of Louisiana students who received a TOPS scholarship in the fall 2017 semester. (Source: Nola.com/The Times Picayune via the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance)

December 1, 2017

Harvard on the Bayou

The cost of higher education has shifted dramatically in the last decade from state taxpayers to students.

Number of the Day

$1 trillion - The net cost of the Senate tax plan, according to analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation after factoring in an estimated $458 billion in revenue from economic growth and $51 billion over a decade in interest payments. (Source: Joint Committee on Taxation via The Washington Post)

October 9, 2017

Training tomorrow’s workers

Louisiana is very generous when it comes to providing college scholarships to traditional students who pursue four-year degrees directly from high school. But it is considerably less generous for everyone else - especially non-traditional students, people from low-income backgrounds and students seeking two-year associate degrees or skills training.

Number of the Day

$723.67 - Average weekly wages for production and “non-supervisory” workers in 2016 - which is 2 percent lower than in 1972, in inflation-adjusted dollars. (Source: EPI via The New York Times)

September 18, 2017

The politics of the fiscal cliff

Louisiana faces a $1.5 billion gap between revenues and expenses in the state fiscal year that starts July 1, mainly due to temporary taxes that are expiring. While some officials are optimistic that a deal can come together on taxes by early next year, others say the philosophical gulf separating Gov. John Bel Edwards from hard-line conservatives in the House is far from bridged.

Number of the Day

$7.3 billion - Amount of federal Medicaid funding Louisiana would lose in 2027 under a health care repeal bill sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy (Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)