Johns Hopkins, a private research institution in Baltimore, says tuition will be free for families earning less than $200,000 a year. If they make less than $100,000 a year, both tuition and living expenses will be waived.
Josue Sierra is the media relations specialist for Maryland Family Institute.
"So, just at a surface level from what I saw and from what I understand, I think this is a good thing. So, private philanthropy, solving problems is exactly how a free society should work."
He said Johns Hopkins is a private institution using private donations like the Bloomberg gift to expand access.
The Daily Caller explains that was a 2018 gift of $2 billion to the university from Michael Bloomberg.
"That's really different from what we see broadly in culture from government-mandated free college being called out. That kind of thing from the government shifts costs to the taxpayer. In a free-market system, private institutions being innovative is healthy, government coercion is not. So, we think this as a great thing."
For students, Sierra said he thinks it is ultimately good for them. He said Maryland families benefit when private institutions compete.
“I would say likewise families are hurt when government interferes or intervenes to pick winners and losers. So Hopkins is wanting to compete for students, and it's doing so by lowering their price and making tuition free and using private donations."
He said Maryland families already face one of the highest tax burdens in the region, so his team commends them for this move.
"I think on a separate side, one area to call out, Hopkins does receive billions of dollars in federal funding, and so Maryland families and taxpayers really nationwide deserve transparency and accountability about that."
Not just this institution, but he said others need transparency as well.
"That's not necessarily directly related to this initiative, but it's an open concern that ought to be addressed across universities that are receiving federal funding."
