Ribicoff's Tax Credit

The Senate voted wisely on Tuesday to defeat Senator Ribicoff's amendment to the Administration tax bill. The amendment, which enjoyed strong liberal support, would have granted $325 credit to anyone paying college tuition. It would not have affected the amount of revenue raised for the Vietnam war during 1966 and 1967, since the credit would have applied first to returns submitted in 1968.

More money for education is certainly desirable. And the $1 billion in tax revenue lost to the government through this amendment would have gone into paying for tuition, textbooks and supplies. But too much of the money would have been wasted on families in middle income groups who do not really need it. Senator Ribicoff has argued that the middle income groups deserve relief because they are ineligible for the scholarships and other financial aid which the poorer groups receive. But only a small percentage of these lower income groups are able to secure such funds. And while the middle income family may be forced to sacrifice a Florida vacation, the student from a lower income group may be obliged to give up college altogether.

The government, should provide more educational aid to more families, but the funds must go to the poorest students. The Ribicoff amendment was a piece of shotgun legislation, spraying aid indiscriminately without regard to need. The government should spend the $1 billion for education, but it should spend it more sensibly. The defeat of the Ribicoff amendment cannot be interpreted as denying the government's obligation to make the opportunity of college education available to all students.