San Antonio Mayoral candidate Bert Cecconi is using billboards to tell voters about his idea for a tuition-free college program. However, Cecconi proposes to “force” builders and citizens to pay for the program through a city ordinance that will impact negatively on the building industry.

Cecconi has 300 billboards around San Antonio that preach his tuition-free junior college idea. However, the devil is in the details, and his ads don’t explain how to fund this program.

"The way I propose doing it (funding the program) is passing a city ordinance that says all new construction, homes, and buildings in San Antonio, will have solar panels," Cecconi, an 83-year-old retired dentist said. "CPS would install the panels, and CPS will own them."

CPS is the City’s biggest moneymaker, so all the money would go to the city government, and they would administer the new program. It would create more city bureaucracy. 

Cecconi plans to “force” all new construction to include solar panels through a city ordinance. The costs will be passed on to the occupants and ratepayers of those buildings.

Of course, the idea of tuition-free college sounds like a noble idea. The city would increase the number of college-educated people, and higher education would be available to everyone including the poor.

However, the higher costs of construction and occupancy will impact on citizens. The high cost of installation and maintenance of the solar panels make his idea cost-prohibitive, and the program will raise San Antonio’s cost of living.

Liberals and socialists don’t seem to understand that people will always “vote with their feet.” They will move out of undesirable communities, and a high cost of living is very undesirable.

An ordinance forcing builders to include solar panels in their construction will increase their building costs, and only big developers will be able to build in the city. The high cost of construction will also impact the affordability of housing for low-income citizens.

Also, any public program means more local government spending and higher debt. Contrary to what liberals claim, government programs never pay for themselves.

Sadly, San Antonio’s government has been drifting further to the left recent years. Cecconi may not be elected, but the idea of tuition-free college will probably take root among other liberal city candidates. 

Several liberal programs have been created recently by the San Antonio city council. For example, San Antonio has a Pre-K school program designed by former Mayor Julian Castro that duplicates a function of public schools. Citizens pay for it twice through city property taxes and the school district taxes.

Under Mayor Ron Nirenberg, the City created a program that provides legal services to illegal aliens, in direct opposition to a state law against sanctuary cities.

Cecconi’s proposed program is "local tyranny" disguised as public service particularly since it forces citizens spending money unnecessarily. While tuition-free college sounds good, someone always pays for public programs because there is no such thing as a government free lunch.

Citizens should remember that under the U.S. Constitution power is given to grassroots voters and the defense of personal and economic freedom starts in their backyard.