6 Investment analysis 16.4%, which is impressive compared to the U.S. stock market’s 30-year average rate of return of 9.6%. Taxpayer perspective SUNY WCC generates more in tax revenue than it receives. These benefits to taxpayers consist primarily of taxes that the state and local government will collect from the added revenue created in the state. As SUNYWCC students will earn more, they will make higher tax payments throughout their working lives. Students’ employers will also make higher tax payments as they increase their output and purchases of goods and services. By the end of the FY 2021-22 students’ working lives, the state and local government will have collected a present value of $84.1 million in added taxes. Benefits to taxpayers will also consist of savings generated by the improved lifestyles of SUNYWCC students and the corresponding reduced government services. Education is statistically correlated with a variety of lifestyle changes. The education that SUNYWCC students receive will generate savings in three main categories: 1) healthcare, 2) justice system, and 3) income assistance. Improved health will lower students’ demand for national health care services. In addition, costs related to the justice system will decrease. SUNY WCC students will be more employable, so their reduced demand for income assistance such as welfare and unemployment benefits will benefit taxpayers. For a list of study references, contact the college for a copy of the main report. Altogether, the present value of the benefits associated with an education from SUNY WCC will generate $12.5 million in savings to state and local taxpayers. Total taxpayer benefits amount to $96.6 million, the present value sum of the added taxes and public sector savings. Taxpayer costs are $71.2 million, equal to the amount of state and local government funding SUNY WCC received in FY 2021-22. These benefits and costs yield a benefit-cost ratio of 1.4. This means that for every dollar of public money invested in SUNY WCC in FY 2021-22, taxpayers will receive a cumulative present value of $1.40 over the course of the students’ working lives. The average annual internal rate of return for taxpayers is 2.1%, which compares favorably to other long-term investments in the public sector. Social perspective Society as a whole in New York benefits from the presence of SUNY WCC in two major ways. Primarily, society benefits from an increased economic base in the state. This is attributed to the added income from students’ increased lifetime earnings (added student income) and increased business output (added business income), which raise economic prosperity in New York. For every dollar of public money invested in SUNY WCC, taxpayers will receive a cumulative value of $1.40 over the course of the students’ working lives.
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