In 1988, the Michigan legislature enacted the nation's first state-run program, the Pay-Now, Learn-Later Plan, to guarantee college tuition for students whose families invested in a special tax-free trust fund. The minimum deposit now is $1,689 for each year of tuition that sponsors of a newborn want to prepay. The yearly amount to buy into the plan increases with the age of the child: Parents of infants pay the least, and parents of high school seniors pay the most-$8,800 this year. This is because high school seniors will go to college sooner. Michigan State Treasurer Robert A. Bowman contends that the educational trust is a better deal than putting money into a certificate of deposit (CD) or a tuition prepayment plan at a bank, because the state promises to stand behind the investment. "Regardless of how high tuition goes, you know it's paid for," he said. "The disadvantage of a CD or a savings account is you have to hope and cross your fingers that tuition won't outpace the amount you save." At the newborns' rate, $6,756 will prepay four years of college, which is 25% less than the statewide average public-college cost of $9,000 for four years in 1988. In 2006, when a child born in 1988 will be old enough for college, four years of college could cost $94,360 at a private institution and $36,560 at a state school if costs continue to rise the expected average of at least 7% a year. The Internal Revenue Service issued its opinion, ruling that the person who sets aside the money would not be taxed on the amount paid into the fund. The agency said that the student would be subject to federal tax on the difference between the amount paid in and the amount paid out. Assuming that you are interested in the program for a newborn, would you join it?