On Sunday morning The Cornell Review’s editor-in-chief was interviewed on Fox & Friends on the Fox News Channel. It was the culmination of a week of reporting (story 1, story 2, story 3) and contacting various news organizations in order to get this story national. We would like to thank Legal Insurrection, Campus Reform, The CollegeFix, and of course Fox News for helping make this happen.
Though the segment was short, we were able to communicate some of the most important aspects of Cornell’s student health fee, including its redistributionist nature, how it passes more costs unto students, and how it is also an administrative bailout.
There are two clarifications we wish to make:
1) The $350 is not an “opt-out” fee as was displayed before the interview began. By paying the fee you’re not opting out of anything. The fee is a penalty for not purchasing Cornell’s Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP), regardless of your specific circumstances. If you have private health insurance (from any source), you either purchase SHIP (>$2300) or pay the $350. So, if anything, the $350 is an opt-in fee—that is, you cannot attend Cornell without paying the fee.
2) The Cornell Review did not film the video that was aired before and during the interview segment. Students affiliated with the protest organizers shot that footage and posted it online. The Cornell Review does have its own footage.
Also, we would like to clarify that no one in The Cornell Review ever made the argument that Obamacare is directly responsible for Cornell’s student health fee. While the director of Gannett did cite rising healthcare costs as one reason for the fee—and it is true Obamacare has contributed and will continue to contribute to rising healthcare costs—for all we at the Review know, Obamacare is not directly responsible for the fee. The argument we have made is that the principle underlying both Obamacare and the fee+SHIP arrangement at Cornell are nearly identical: both call for redistributing wealth to subsidize healthcare costs “for the common good.”
After Fox News published an article about the health fee, and especially after the interview, the conservative sphere on Twitter completely hijacked #FighttheFee, turning the rallying cry of Cornell students into a pulpit from which to harshly criticize the hypocrisy of most Cornell students–those who vote one way and protest against the very ideas they vote for.
Since no one else has taken the true “conservative” position on this topic, I will oblige.
If you don’t like Cornell and the policies then don’t go there. Transfer to another school. Don’t expect the school to bend over and respond to whining students. This is what a true free market person would do. Vote with your feet and leave. If enough students refuse to enroll in Cornell because of the extravagant $350 fee, the the university will collapse and go bankrupt. Free market economics.
I agree Cornell is an optional expenditure, and therefore one can’t really complain about having to pay more for it. However, students already here have already paid a large amount to Cornell–a so-called investment in their education. Backing out after 1, 2, or 3 years would make the money spent on tuition, travel to and fro campus, and living expenses a complete waste. I agree there is no use in whining and acting like the left-wing protesting students, but there is righteous justification in opposing this fee. Imagine buying a home and making huge investments in it, only later to discover numerous problems driving up the costs to live in it on top of your mortgage payments. You might be inclined to say “Well, buying a home isn’t necessary so you shouldn’t complain.” True, but you’ve already made the down payment, insurance payments, landscaping payments, utilities, property taxes, etc. for a number of years–does it make sense to just move out? Perhaps. It’s a hard decision.
Casey. Just yanking your chain. The problem we all have is that we have little power when confronted with institutional power. I felt the same as you a number of years ago when I was in grad school. Although I lived off campus , was married and only went to classes I was forced to pay a “student services fee” to cover all kinds of student “activities” I never participated in. The price of living in a modern society, dominated by institutions and corporations. Good luck in fighting the increased fees. Students are already overpaying for college, in my opinion.
Dear Mr. President & all the other leftist liberals,
If you don’t like America and its policies; for example, unfettered capitalism, borders, the Second Amendment, an unregulated internet, immigration laws that have been on the books for decades, individuals who do not want to pay more in taxes than they already are, and the absence of single payer healthcare, then transfer yourselves to another country where the policies are more agreeable to you. But don’t expect the nation to bend over. Vote with your feet and leave.
Haha, the irony here is too great !!
Unfettered capitalism? LOL. Why would anyone think that giving massive taxpayer subsidies to the oil industry is “unfettered capitalism”? Why would anyone think that government bailouts of Wall Street financial firms with tax dollars is “unfettered capitalism”? Somebody is living in a dream world. Let me help. Capitalism says that you succeed and fail due to market forces, not government subsidies. Why would anyone with even an elementary understanding of economics think the US has ever had “unfettered capitalism”?
Capitalism was attempted. And failed. From day one. So, the workers have always bailed out the “job creators”. Subsidized the elites. Gave tax breaks. Free public resources. Government bailouts. Free land. Legalized slave labor. That is US history. Which is why the wealthy from the rest of the world have always flocked her. To protect their privilege.
But don’t expect Fox and Friends to figure it out. A bit too complex. LOL The irony is precious.