a total of $73 milliondollars more.( 1999, paragraph 31). Lastly, higher education is in need for more than$400 million dollars worth of improvements (1999, paragraph 32). Only twenty percentof Tennessee population have gone to college, and only sixteen percent has actuallyreceived their degrees (1999, paragraph 33). Some of Tennessee’s brightest studentssay that their is no opportunity in Tennessee (1999, paragraph 34). That could be thereason why only eighteen percent of college bound students want to stay in Tennessee. What if Tennessee had more opportunity for these graduates, would it boost oureconomy? Governor Don Sundquist says, “yes.” Sundquist believes that other statestatistics prove that the more graduates the better a economy is (1999, paragraph 35). For example, in North Carolina, forty-three percent of high school students want toattend colleges in North Carolina (1999, paragraph 35). In Virginia, forty-five percentwant to also stay in-state (1999, paragraph 34). In Tennessee only eighteen percenthave applied to under graduate schools in Tennessee. Do you ever hear of thosestates with budget shortfall problems? What’s wrong with the picture? Why areeducated Tennesseeans wanting to leave? It’s simply because Tennessee ranks verylow in higher education, and job opportunity.Don Sunquist argues, that the state government has done a good job at limitinggovernment, and government spending is down. Tennessee now ranks forty-seventhnationally in state spending, and fiftieth in taxes. Sundquist urges Tennessee citizensto ask themselves a few questions. Sundquist asks, “ Is it worth it to us to remain fifthin that nation in taxes, if our schools and public services are also the lowest ranked?” He also asks, “ If we must raise more revenue, do we really want to do that by raising asales tax that is already one of the nation’s highest, or by thinking further with bus...
