BANK ON LEARNING

Four of the five sponsors and co-sponsors for tax-deductible lifelong learning accounts are the members of Maine’s congressional delegation – as is fitting. If any place would benefit from ways to make higher education less expensive for nontraditional, older students, it is a rural, below-average-income, low birthrate state where an increase in the number of college degrees is a recent phenomenon. That is, Maine.

The Lifelong Learning Accounts envisioned by legislation in the House – by Rep. Tom Allen, co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Michaud – and Senate – by Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, co-sponsored by Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins – would act similarly to current college savings accounts. These accounts, called 529s after the Internal Revenue Code section that allows states to offer prepaid tuition and tax-advantaged savings, are used by parents and others to build up funds for a student’s college costs.

The new accounts could be matched by employers and could finance college educations, training, apprenticeships and employer-required training. Employees would receive a tax credit on the first $500 they contribute and a tax deduction on contributions after that. Employers who contribute would also receive a tax credit. The program is open to any low or middle-income resident whose employer agrees to participate in it.

Investments in skills are important for creating a stable economy in Maine – unlike, say, computers, worker knowledge can’t be packed into a moving truck and shipped out of state – and is especially important for any state with a high demand for a skilled work force but too few new college graduates each year to meet the potential demand. But making college or a skills upgrade more affordable for those already in the work force has been a challenge.

Lifelong Learning Accounts would help, but the legislation won’t pass unless many more members of Congress become convinced that the accounts would serve their constituents. This is an opportunity for Maine’s delegation to work together to expand awareness among colleagues whose states are much like Maine: facing a skills shortage and expensive training. From there, the value of the accounts becomes self-evident.