At 12:11 PM 8/23/01 -0400, Dr. Rushing wrote:

>I received this comment earlier today from a classmate who now
>practices corporate law in Washington DC...    his take on the
>Tennessee financial "mess" represents a perspective of which most of
>our fellow citizens are not aware.
>
>>From: DP
>>To: KR
>>Subject: RE: Tennessee Financial situation
>>Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 11:50:32 -0400
>>Status:
>>
>>UT's top ranking (in partying, not football) was the subject of lunch
>>discussion yesterday with my partner, who like Estes Kefauver
>>combined a UT undergraduate degree with a law degree from Yale. Am I correct
>>that the previous top ranked school was Chico State?  Why haven't I heard of
>>Chico State?
>>
>>The Tennessee state financial circus has of course been a regular topic in
>>the trade press that we boring  bond lawyers read.  The national rating
>>agencies have downgraded the state, meaning that those of you who pay taxes
>>in Tennessee will pay more every time the state borrows, which it does with
>>some frequency.  While other states like North Carolina have had recent
>>problems, the way in which they have addressed them has been quite
>>different.  Tennessee has embarrassed itself at considerable cost to its
>>citizens. So what else is new?
>>

One of Tennessee's congressmen was quoted in the paper recently saying
something like "As long as UT is playing football on Saturday, the majority
of people in Tennessee think everything in higher education is fine."

This is a sad truth, but UT football is the only "contact" many citizens in
this state have with higher education. I have an idea of what might wake up
the people of Tennessee. Let's cap the attendance at UT Football games to
the lower level of Neyland stadium. Sorry, we can't afford to hire enough
workers to properly staff the upper level of Neyland Stadium. (Yes I know
that UT football is a big money maker, but work with me on this...)

All the normal citizens (who can't afford to get the lower level seats in
Neyland Stadium) bombard their elected officials demanding tax reform. They
might even throw bricks through windows demanding it! ;-)

This is probably as realistic as having an expectation that there will be
some tax reform in 2002 (election year).


Jonathan Looney
Director - Student Financial Aid
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga