Young Talent and A Promise Unkept

A common question asked by companies seeking to establish themselves in Michigan centers around the issue of young flight out of the state. Why do recent high school and college graduates feel the need to leave Michigan in search of "better" opportunity? Well, state legislative cuts to scholarships like the Michigan Promise certainly don't help the situation. As the state faces a scarcity of young talent compounded with a fiscal crisis, legislators are forced to make tough choices about what to cut next. Unfortunately, their choices may further exacerbate the economic woes plaguing the state.

The state senate recently voted to cut the $4000 Michigan Promise Scholarship that the Granholm administration passed to help retain young talent in the state. The scholarship went to high school seniors that passed the state's academic tests and chose to attend a Michigan college of university. Breaking the promise to these students would only re-entrench their distrust in the Michigan state government, further encouraging their exodus out of the state. Moreover, without this scholarship many students may choose to attend colleges outside the state of Michigan that have comparable costs. Oftentimes, $4000 is the difference between attending and not attending college and the value of this scholarship cannot be measured in college attendance rates alone. It also impacts student and parent spending practices and graduate retention rates. If Michigan wants to retain young talent in the state the legislators of the state should either stop making promises they can't keep or keep the promises they make.

I strongly encourage the state house to consider the direct and indirect implications of cutting this scholarship and not follow in the footsteps of their senatorial counterparts. Programs and grants have to be cut, however, this goes beyond a simple budget cut. Parents and students were planning on this scholarship when deciding whether to send their kids to college or when they were making family budgets for the future. It represents 10% of the average college educational costs and makes a substantial impact on the financial viability of Michigan households. In order to retain credibility in the eyes of the next generation of Michigan youth we must avoid this cut.