re: should TOPs recipients be required to stay in LA for a set # of years after graduation?

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So force them to stay here and be under employed or unemployed? You guys are fricking geniuses I tell ya.

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Nailed it

Why don't you force everyone who attends public middle school and high school in the state stay too? How the frick is that any different than TOPS?

At least this state has blue color jobs for HS graduates.

It is not unusual for kids to leave the state for a first job and then move back later when they are making more. Not much ROI on a first job. What they pay in state income taxes over four years may not be that significant.

Second, how big of a problem is this? The link had no statistics on how many kids leave the state versus stay in the state after graduating and how much those that stay contribute to the tax base.

Every institution in the state --- vo-tech, beauty schools,etc --- offers TOPS. Maybe we should limit that and cut the number of full four year universities at the same time.

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Fix TOPS by increasing required GPA and ACT scores and by forcing those who lose TOPS due to academic failings, legal issues, etc., to pay it back

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I could also get behind this.

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force grads to stay in a state where there are no jobs? great idea !

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Force taxpayers to pay for students who will contribute nothing after graduation because they aren't here anymore. Great idea!

I am coming close to graduating again, and have been fighting tooth and nail to stay in South LA. Leaving is the absolute last thing I want to do because I know I'll be miserable anywhere else. The jobs just aren't here, so I'm forced to either be underemployed at a job I don't want, or move 4hrs away and make 35-50% more in Texas.


As a single guy, what am I gonna do? Now include the 10-15k other people that graduate college each year in LA, and you see the problem

I'll say this much,

I sure wish some Tulane students were required to stay and contribute something after their 4 years of enjoying New Orleans.

Do other states require people to have 3-5 years experience for entry level jobs like we do? I haven't seriously taken a look at the job market anywhere else, but that has been my main problem

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Then don't offer TOPS to everyone.

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or restrict it to higher performing students that need a little help. Don't give it to dummies or to those with the means to easily pay for college themselves.

My daughter was cashing checks with TOPS and her schollies, that should've never been hapoening.

Look, I don't think getting rid of TOPS entirely is the answer. It is a great program and the only government run one that people that actually pay taxes get to utilize. Like I said earlier in the thread, I'm very grateful that I had TOPS, but it isn't fair that I took $50,000 of taxpayers money and then was out of here. It would suck to pay back but I'm against government handouts. I understand it's not welfair because it's merit based but the reality is it's free money from the government if you leave. With that being said, if someone leaves for 5 years and comes back to work 30 they shouldn't be punished so maybe what has already been paid can be deducted on your tax return and the rest forgiven. This is just one idea that I've come up with, I'm sure there are other possible solutions that could be discussed. There is definitely nuances that need to be figured out, but LA giving out more free money is not the answer whether that's TOPS or increased food stamps.

There is also no doubt that standards should raised, pretty significantlly in my opinion, and businesses should be both encouraged to come here and existing business grow. These two things will fix a lot of the states problems, but hanging out free money isn't part of the solution.