Show me the money 2

Last week we wrote about the state’s love for your money. They are so desperate for more money right now, in fact, that they have raided virtually every state agency trust fund, swept the Budget Stabilization fund, and stuck their dirty fingers into the Lawton Chiles Endowment cookie jar. This week, Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, suggested adding the Prepaid College Program (PCP) to the list, which is sitting on about $8.8 billion, to that list.


Sen. Bling says this money is the state’s money since the state is responsible for and manages the money, and Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, agrees. They couldn’t be more wrong, and that they are even talking about it is proof they simply don’t get it.


The money sitting in the PCP belongs to the parents who invested it for their child’s education. And actually it belongs to the child. The benefit of the program for parents is that it locks in tuition at today’s rates and thereby protects against tuition increases. The program can guarantee this because they get to invest the money over many years until the child starts attending college. Which is exactly why the fund shows an overage of about $468 million.


Senators Bling and Dilbert refuse to acknowledge that tuition at Florida’s universities and colleges are skyrocketing. The overage in the fund will cover those increases if they leave it alone. If not, the PCP will become the latest version of the state Lottery, which was supposed to create money for education but instead became the principle source of education funding. I’ve said it before and I will again…the state has no business managing your money.


All one has to do is to look at the current budget crisis to realize the Legislature is just a few cookies short of a full jar.