tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post8106392266458057578..comments2024-03-27T21:23:40.339-04:00Comments on Chemjobber: What's the point of taxing tuition waivers? Chemjobberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-92024245109098824152017-11-09T23:00:53.370-05:002017-11-09T23:00:53.370-05:00This is a great form of PhD birth control. I thoug...This is a great form of PhD birth control. I thought having a minimum salary for students would do it, but this is even better!<br /><br />Universities have contorted every income stream in a manner to make them unaccountable and untaxable. This tax would pop the bubble and further expose the fact that universities are easily eating up 60%+ of the science grant money they are getting in overhead and other things...no wonder those labs look so shabby.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-42255203330582218102017-11-09T16:19:45.837-05:002017-11-09T16:19:45.837-05:00True, this is worse, but both involve a big chunk ...True, this is worse, but both involve a big chunk of grad students' money suddenly going to the government. Here's hoping this goes nowhere as well.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02201124606740258407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-25276532880747953492017-11-08T11:22:39.702-05:002017-11-08T11:22:39.702-05:00I would argue that higher education has been destr...I would argue that higher education has been destructive to social mobility. Requiring a 4-year degree for an entry-level job in a cubicle farm is a socially acceptable, 100% legal way of saying "we want a nice white suburban kid who's like us." <br /><br />There are a few older guys at my company who got promoted to high levels after starting on the plant floor with a high school education, and this almost never happens today. Most of what the average desk jockey needs to know is learned on-the-job after college, and a bachelor's degree often just means someone partied for four years.KTnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-59874509201090185422017-11-07T18:56:45.000-05:002017-11-07T18:56:45.000-05:00No, scholarships are a separate line in the tax co...No, scholarships are a separate line in the tax code, and are not being struck.machinegungeekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15419339451977019014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-79128566155579380232017-11-07T13:36:30.112-05:002017-11-07T13:36:30.112-05:00Yes. It would extend to faculty/staff children who...Yes. It would extend to faculty/staff children who get a tuition remission benefit as well.<br /><br />They're also going after the ability of non-profit educational institutions to finance debt with tax-advantaged bonds. And creating an excise tax on endowments.<br /><br />It's a concerted effort to declare that the current government is not interested in having an educated population.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-85440608164953895032017-11-07T13:28:13.482-05:002017-11-07T13:28:13.482-05:00GOP is looking to pay for the tax cuts using any m...GOP is looking to pay for the tax cuts using any method they can find under the reconciliation rules. To that end, hitting students and academics who don't normally vote for them anyway probably is an easy way to do it, although it is not explicitly aimed for that purpose.<br /><br />Public schools probably can't drop tuition to "0" without permission of their legislatures. Private schools probably can, but they would have to give up the tuition waivers in their research grants if they did it. Would they be willing to do so? The first goal of any research proposal from the administrative perspective is to loot as much funding from the govt as possible into the institution to waste on other purposes, hence the ever more bloated overhead rates that we see.<br /><br />Actually, the policy wouldn't be so bad if they phased it in slowly so the current generation doesn't get all of the downside. Might eventually reduce the number of grad students and start bringing the job market back into equilibrium. Any policy that stops subsidizing bloated universities for recruiting endless new students would be a good thing at the end of the day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-80879130574665304112017-11-07T12:31:32.215-05:002017-11-07T12:31:32.215-05:00[see link in handle][see link in handle]The corroborating mathhttp://caffeinatedcraziness.tumblr.com/post/167182063379/for-all-american-grad-students-who-get-tuitionnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-36597782068403978282017-11-07T12:30:10.931-05:002017-11-07T12:30:10.931-05:00Hmmm under this bill my tax burden jumps from 10% ...Hmmm under this bill my tax burden jumps from 10% to 40% of my income...yes...cut...Starving Grad Studentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-61094340889544231112017-11-07T12:11:53.872-05:002017-11-07T12:11:53.872-05:00It does seem like a very odd provision to go after...It does seem like a very odd provision to go after considering I doubt many people outside academia know about this. (Thus, it seems an odd thing to try to "gin up the base" over.) I also doubt this would raise all that much revenue since I imagine many universities would just restructure the way they pay graduate students. As far as I am aware, though, universities (at least the public university I did my PhD at) already charge 50%+ overhead on anything that gets paid out of any grant. Couldn't they just charge "overhead" instead of "tuition" and get around the whole thing? Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if it would get universities to stop with the convenient fiction that TAs or graduate student researchers are anything but employees.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15346340259173547682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-77905875894371587362017-11-07T11:21:45.939-05:002017-11-07T11:21:45.939-05:00If this passes, see the anon 9:55 above you. Coul...If this passes, see the anon 9:55 above you. Could it extend to undergrads? People receiving scholarships and/or grants? The reason some people receive grants is because they may not have the monetary means to afford college and then now they may be asking the person to pay taxes on it. Where does it end?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-58108910884787623642017-11-07T10:47:26.349-05:002017-11-07T10:47:26.349-05:00In general, when people earn income, you're su...In general, when people earn income, you're supposed to pay taxes on it. I don't think that is very controversial. This is true whether the income is monetary or non-monetary. If I gave you money, you have to pay income taxes on that gift. If I give you free in-kind services, those are taxable as income. The current proposal would just make this true of tuition received for free by graduate students. Whether the graduate students will value the "free" tuition that they receive to the same extent that their university charges the goverment for it is another story.tentrillionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06470262097820781837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-5444544520397783752017-11-07T10:35:24.050-05:002017-11-07T10:35:24.050-05:00Yes, the overall tax bill is sold as this. That&#...Yes, the overall tax bill is sold as this. That's not something that is debated or even the point of the original post. The point of the original post was why go after the tuition as salary provision.<br /><br />My point is this rather small part of the overall bill is not going to sway one vote or another and will not help get a "win". It's simply the architects of the bill trying to grab back as much revenue as they can because they know they are going to lose a significant amount - without spending offsets.CRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-51862190886075304792017-11-07T09:58:17.711-05:002017-11-07T09:58:17.711-05:00I disagree. They sell it as a win to the middle c...I disagree. They sell it as a win to the middle class because "larger tax breaks" when in reality it hammers the middle class more. It's all about them getting "wins" to their donors and attempting to push their agenda further.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-37450681367146286602017-11-07T09:55:51.470-05:002017-11-07T09:55:51.470-05:00Because of this, I wonder if grants like Pell gran...Because of this, I wonder if grants like Pell grant, and other 'free money' will become taxable for undergrads.<br /><br />What about scholarships? Will this also be taxed? That's essentially what a tuition waiver is in my mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-31587605231551287132017-11-07T09:36:38.071-05:002017-11-07T09:36:38.071-05:00Sure, that is a thing...but this particular item i...Sure, that is a thing...but this particular item is not about getting a "win" - this particular provision will not sway a vote one way or another. This is simply about trying to pinch every penny to try and make back the massive shortfall in revenue that has been projected with this tax cut. Yes, yes, we have all heard how this tax cut (Cut, cut, cut, cut bill) will stimulate so much additional revenue that we will all be rolling in it. But, it simply will not. It's been tried before and not worked.CRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-41520839251452157802017-11-07T09:30:45.842-05:002017-11-07T09:30:45.842-05:00Actually this would be very different than what yo...Actually this would be very different than what you are describing. What happened back in the day (happened to me as well) was someone saying you make $15K and no taxes were taken out and then all of sudden they were going to tax the $15K. This is saying you make $15K, but since your tuition is $20K we are now going to tax you on $35K - quite different tax implications.<br /><br />Back in the Bush #1 era (I believe it was Bush #1) the proposal was to tax tuition reimbursements from companies as additional income. But it ultimately did not pass.CRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-35196212912374716902017-11-07T09:29:38.964-05:002017-11-07T09:29:38.964-05:00The reason for this, CJ, is that the GOP hasn'...The reason for this, CJ, is that the GOP hasn't got a "win" since the current office has taken over. Many donors are upset of this despite having a great majority, one the likes has not been observed before. So when such and such is asking for money to run for office/re-election, these donors can point to "nothing" being "won". Google it, it's a very real thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-42524615864715033082017-11-07T08:30:38.279-05:002017-11-07T08:30:38.279-05:00Fine.
Worst-case scenario? Henry VIII and the mon...Fine.<br /><br />Worst-case scenario? Henry VIII and the monasteries.<br /><br />Best-case scenario? Combined with the proposed 401(k) stuff and end of the protections on student loans, we're looking at the end of higher-education as a means of social mobility and the complete destruction of the educated middle class. nbdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-67780877062249394112017-11-07T08:29:44.835-05:002017-11-07T08:29:44.835-05:00Seems a bit narrow and wonkish for performance art...Seems a bit narrow and wonkish for performance art. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-13924367823386818052017-11-07T08:10:06.806-05:002017-11-07T08:10:06.806-05:00I'd say the GOP is playing to their base. See,...I'd say the GOP is playing to their base. See, I'm smacking around those "intellectuals" who mock your beliefs.<br />qvxbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-86955069478153740272017-11-07T00:06:47.310-05:002017-11-07T00:06:47.310-05:00Have at, be civil, no name calling.Have at, be civil, no name calling.Chemjobberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-27148677922437597782017-11-06T21:25:12.374-05:002017-11-06T21:25:12.374-05:00so, how do i not get political in answering when t...so, how do i not get political in answering when the questions posed are very much about politics?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-11733810866276171452017-11-06T17:10:15.755-05:002017-11-06T17:10:15.755-05:00They’re digging around in couch cushions and shaki...They’re digging around in couch cushions and shaking down children for their lunch money trying to pay for cuts for their donors. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-36506652647927719822017-11-06T16:10:40.905-05:002017-11-06T16:10:40.905-05:00"The real motivation for this policy is proba..."The real motivation for this policy is probably beyond the scope of the comments section of this blog."<br /><br />Humor us with your tl;dr version, why don't you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-15838399196560334762017-11-06T15:20:34.702-05:002017-11-06T15:20:34.702-05:00In support of this statement, my grad institution ...In support of this statement, my grad institution (expensive private school) "charged" grad students full freight until they passed their candidacy exam, i.e. the time they were more likely to be actively taking grad classes and working as TAs, thus having their tuition covered by high-paying undergrads. After candidacy was established, tuition was lowered to a much more reasonable number when they were more likely to be supported by PI's grants.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com