Higher Education Threatened by Cuts
The column by Daniel Akst is right about the neglect by the California State University and College system in developing an endowment to help support worthy programs. The community colleges are also neglected.
But Akst is dead wrong when he says that fees should be raised at UC and CSU. This will increase the debt burden that our students must assume to graduate with bachelor’s degrees. Is it any wonder that some Ph.D. and master’s programs are filled primarily with foreign nationals who are not burdened with similar levels of debt?
The leaders who have decided to increase college fees instead of raising taxes are the same generation that benefited from a host of student financial aid grants and loans, such as the National Student Defense Loan programs following the Korean War, which had generous debt-forgiveness provisions.
A nation that wants to be a strong global competitor through the creation of high-wage jobs cannot hope to do so on the backs of its young.
A declining, highly paid work force in California will not be able to afford present levels of retirement and health support for those who are in their mid-40s today and plan to retire during the next 15 to 20 years.
It is “voodoo thinking” for the governor and legislative leaders of both parties to believe that slashing educational opportunities and failing to raise taxes for education today will lead to improvements in the state’s economy tomorrow.
RICHARD W. DITTBENNER
The author is a professor of business law at Southwestern College in Chula Vista.
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