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Monday, November 5, 2012

District 3: Dan Kaiser Would Eliminate State Funding for NSU

Last week I discussed Dan Kaiser's avid support for Ron Paul and the reasons District 3 voters might want to steer clear of his nullificationist libertarianism.

But if discussions of abstract and mostly ill-thought-out political philosophy don't get District 3 voters out of their chairs, let's try a bread-and-butter issue: Kaiser supports closing Northern State University, one of District 3's biggest employers.

Say what? Kaiser couldn't have said something so political suicidal, could have he?

I don't put it past Ron Paul supporters to say any number of crazy things. Kaiser hasn't said, "Let's close NSU!" in so many words. But let's look at Dan Kaiser's responses to the VoteSmart.org Political Courage Test, under "Budget, Spending, and Tax Issues" and "Education." According to VoteSmart,
  1. Kaiser would "eliminate" higher education funding. (He would also eliminate state funding for health care and welfare. He'd give K-12 a "slight increase.")
  2. Kaiser favors increasing tuition at public universities.
  3. He opposes state funding for financial aid for college students.
Now Kaiser does contend later that he "will be a legislator for the poor and middle class." Yet by removing all state support from higher education, Kaiser would more than double the cost of the college education that is already beyond the means of too many poor and even middle-class families.

Would eliminating state funding immediately close Northern State University? Maybe not. But as Charlie Johnson explained down the road a piece at the District 8 forum last week, you can't keep your university open if students can't afford tuition. And if the state isn't supporting it, it's not really a "state" university.

No more Northern State University—just one more practical consequence of electing avid Ron Paul supporters like Dan Kaiser to the South Dakota Legislature.

Worth noting: neither of the Democrats running for District 3 House, Zachary Anderson and Bill Antonides, have completed the VoteSmart.org Political Courage Test. Republican David Novstrup has: he would slightly increase funding for higher education. Alas, Novstrup would ban abortion in cases of rape and incest.

3 comments:

  1. Cory, as we head full on into election day, I want to say thank you!

    Thank you for bringing a different perspective to the issues and people in a one party state.

    Thank you for exploring the issues of the day in more depth.

    Thank you for giving many a voice to share their thoughts and observations! (yes, even you Sibby;-)

    Lastly, thanks for caring enough to spend countless hours to put all of this together and enduring the barbs that come with your blog.

    Those efforts are appreciated.

    With that said. Don't get mad. Vote!

    Jana

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Jana, for contributing to the conversation here. I learn a great deal from my commenters, you included.

    And I don't mind if folks get mad. I do mind if they don't vote.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gov't funding is one of the main driving factors in rising tuition costs. Much like any other gov't entity, they must spend what they have in order to get more. There is never a reduction in costs and there will always be increases whether they are warranted or not. I won't support more funding until they stop telling everyone they can go to college. Not everyone is fit for college and some people need to go right into the workforce.

    ReplyDelete

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