The Higher Education Welfare State
I've been on record for quite some time in pointing out that those Americans most likely to be feeding out of the government trough a la the stereotypical "welfare mamas" are the very people who fancy themselves cowboys. Be it the cotton farmer waiting by the mailbox for his six-figure subsidy check, the owner of the multi-million dollar home on the Florida coast waiting for taxpayers to pay for you to build another doomed home in the aftermath of a hurricane, the Southwestern rancher dependent on elaborate government-run irrigation systems for his water supply, or the South Dakota Citibank executive who would be driving to work on dirt roads if not for that state's obscene intake of federal highway funds, it seems that those most enraged about the presence of government in their lives are most likely to be dependent upon it for their financial existence. Unfortunately, another group that is increasingly part of that welfare state culture is the entire system of higher education.
I was a product of higher education welfare (grants, scholarships, loans, and the whole shebang) 10 years ago when I went to college, so I certainly don't wish to begrudge anybody a college education. Nonetheless, the current financing system of higher education has become irreparably dysfunctional as the hyperinflation of tuition rates is the direct result of the systematic avoidance of market forces vis a vis taxpayer-funded financial aid. There's little accountability for supply and demand laws with a third-party payer (an argument often used as it pertains to health care funding, be it by government or private insurers) meaning that colleges can spike the costs of their services without repercussions from their customers. As a result, college tuition rates are increasing at double-digit annual margins for public schools and an average of $1,500 per year at private colleges. This rate of inflation will be unsustainable in the face of tightening public budgets. Sooner or later, the public is gonna balk at the premise of increasing the rate of per-student welfare to universities at rates of hundreds or thousands per year. Then what?
The greatest implication of the higher education welfare state will be its proposed expansion into K-12 education as advocated by "vouchers" shills. Ironically enough, it's the party that advocates "smaller government" wishing to foist public dollars into private education, mostly as retribution for the teachers' union having the audacity to support Democrats. Those who believe that public K-12 education has become an unquenchable budgetary beast already will be horrified to see the rate of education inflation that occurs when private schools can avert market forces with voucher-financed tuitions. Just as tuitions at private colleges have risen a minimum of $1,000 per year in the last generation, the cost of subsidizing each student with vouchers will inflate at equally alarming rate, most likely even higher. Vouchers will most likely snuff out the very competitive advantage that currently exists with private schools as they become systematically less accountable as a predictable consequence of leaning on a blank check from the state.
As always, there are no easy answers to controlling the higher education welfare state (or the potentially looming K-12 welfare state), but sooner or later, somebody is gonna have to hold colleges and universities' feet to the fire to control tuition costs. As the day of reckoning nears for Social Security and Medicare shortfalls, many things are gonna have to give budgetwise. It would be a tragedy (not to mention an act of generational warfare) to see college students be the big losers in this shell game, but simple arithmatic (far more seniors than college-age students on the horizon) makes it a safe bet that they will be.....and the utter shamelessness with which institutions of higher learning are exploiting government-financed tuition subsidies really makes them an easy target.
I was a product of higher education welfare (grants, scholarships, loans, and the whole shebang) 10 years ago when I went to college, so I certainly don't wish to begrudge anybody a college education. Nonetheless, the current financing system of higher education has become irreparably dysfunctional as the hyperinflation of tuition rates is the direct result of the systematic avoidance of market forces vis a vis taxpayer-funded financial aid. There's little accountability for supply and demand laws with a third-party payer (an argument often used as it pertains to health care funding, be it by government or private insurers) meaning that colleges can spike the costs of their services without repercussions from their customers. As a result, college tuition rates are increasing at double-digit annual margins for public schools and an average of $1,500 per year at private colleges. This rate of inflation will be unsustainable in the face of tightening public budgets. Sooner or later, the public is gonna balk at the premise of increasing the rate of per-student welfare to universities at rates of hundreds or thousands per year. Then what?
The greatest implication of the higher education welfare state will be its proposed expansion into K-12 education as advocated by "vouchers" shills. Ironically enough, it's the party that advocates "smaller government" wishing to foist public dollars into private education, mostly as retribution for the teachers' union having the audacity to support Democrats. Those who believe that public K-12 education has become an unquenchable budgetary beast already will be horrified to see the rate of education inflation that occurs when private schools can avert market forces with voucher-financed tuitions. Just as tuitions at private colleges have risen a minimum of $1,000 per year in the last generation, the cost of subsidizing each student with vouchers will inflate at equally alarming rate, most likely even higher. Vouchers will most likely snuff out the very competitive advantage that currently exists with private schools as they become systematically less accountable as a predictable consequence of leaning on a blank check from the state.
As always, there are no easy answers to controlling the higher education welfare state (or the potentially looming K-12 welfare state), but sooner or later, somebody is gonna have to hold colleges and universities' feet to the fire to control tuition costs. As the day of reckoning nears for Social Security and Medicare shortfalls, many things are gonna have to give budgetwise. It would be a tragedy (not to mention an act of generational warfare) to see college students be the big losers in this shell game, but simple arithmatic (far more seniors than college-age students on the horizon) makes it a safe bet that they will be.....and the utter shamelessness with which institutions of higher learning are exploiting government-financed tuition subsidies really makes them an easy target.
posted by Mark at 3:32 PM
1 Comments:
There was a proposition on the ballot in California in the Nov 2000 election that called for school vouchers (State-Funded Private and Religious Education Public School Funding), that was overwhelmingly defeated, 70-30. I am proud of my old friends!
Speaking of education, since Republicans want to tie teachers' salaries to their performance, why not tie Congressional salaries to their performance? If Republicans want to run on Democrats raising taxes, Democrats should run on Republicans raising their salaries. In fact, if I were the Democrats, 1 of the things I'd propose would be to restore the tax rate on the wealthy 5% to the pre-Bush rate and reduce Congressional salaries by 10%. I would also propose a bill to tie Congressional Pay to performance (hey, they want to do it w/ teachers)! Under my proposal, Congress would get reductions in pay each year until the budget is balanced.
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