Letter to the Mayor

To: askpgh@city.pittsburgh.pa.us

Office of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl
City of Pittsburgh
City-County Building - Fifth Floor
414 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

November 10, 2009

Dear Mayor Ravenstahl:

As a university student and registered voter, I feel a responsibility to express my disapproval of your proposed tax on college tuition.

For years, Pittsburghers have expressed concern that young people do not remain in the city after graduating from college. We have envisioned young voters as disillusioned and uninvolved. At the same time, we have stressed the importance of higher education to the stability of our city's economy and attempted to make Pittsburgh more attractive to recent graduates. Obviously, Pittsburgh's universities--and therefore its students--are very important to the city.

Instituting a tax on tuition would completely negate any competitive edge Pittsburgh may have with prospective college students. The idea of having to pay even more for the "privilege" of paying tens of thousands of dollars to obtain a meaningful education will drive qualified, motivated students to other cities. This decision is unprecedented in any other jurisdiction.

Additionally, taxing college students, many of whom already struggle to pay their tuition and fees in attempts to make themselves employable in an uncertain economy, will only serve to further alienate you and your administration from young voters. Recent college graduates will become even less likely to remain in a city they believe is not concerned with their interests. If any of them do remain in the city four years from now, they will certainly vote against the incumbent mayor who proposed such insensitive legislation.

Mr. Ravenstahl, had you exercised any measure of fiscal responsibility in your prior term, perhaps you would have already begun to repair the monetary problems Pittsburgh is facing instead of contributing to them. There is no reason a trash can should ever cost over $1000, especially to increase visibility of your name in neighborhoods that already had public waste receptacles.

Thank you for your time.