Conservatives Are Killing State Colleges - By James Carville

[DonViejo]

Your Alma Mater’s Biggest Rival? Stingy State Government

The author is part of the new doc Starving the Beast, which lays bare how right-wing state governments have decimated higher education.

College football season, which is now in full swing, has always intermingled itself with the election cycle—and that makes perfect sense. Whether it’s Razorback red or Stanford cardinal or even LSU purple, it’s always been very good politics to wear the school colors. And it’s always been very bad politics to spit on your alma mater.

Unfortunately, that’s what a lot of politicians have been doing lately, particularly those legislators of the conservative stripe. They may show their school spirit on Saturday while watching the game. But on Monday, many go to work with the intention of decimating every other aspect of that very same institution—the laboratories, the classrooms, the science fairs, and debate societies. Go visit any state capital, and you’ll likely find that conservatives have been engaged in a long, brutal battle to starve America’s finest colleges of funding.

Look at Wisconsin, for example, where the conservative governor, Scott Walker, has taken cheddar cheese grater to the higher ed budget. After he slashed $300 million from the University of Wisconsin system last year, the flagship campus in Madison had to fire 400 employees and cancel 320 courses. Or there’s Kansas, where the Koch Brothers’ sock-puppet, Sam Brownback, just welcomed all the Jayhawks back to school with a 5 percent education cut across the board.

Then, there’s my alma mater, Louisiana State University. Thanks to Governor Bobby "Rebellion Is Brewing" Jindal, the school has lost 80 percent of its government funding over the past eight years. My daughter is beginning her freshman year there now, and by the time she finishes her mid-terms, there might not be a nursing program.

-snip-

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/21/your-alma-mater-s-biggest-rival-stingy-state-government.html

[liberal N proud]

1. The Cons are trying to kill anything that is public

Education both primary and secondary.
Roads
Parks
Prisons

Anything but the military that is.

They want to privatize everything they can and plunder the rest.

[yeoman6987]

5. The thing that gets me is that they want education run by the state

But when they get the chance they destroy it. Then they complain when the federal government steps in.

[Botany]

2. Don't forget the USPS

The GOP is trying to kill off the Post Office too. If we had an honest media
and a more educated population the republicans would be in the dust bin of
history.

[tonyt53]

3. Bevin has already started the same in KY with higher education. But exactly who is directing this?

[Botany]

4. But exactly who is directing this?

ALEC, the Koch Brothers (Americans for Prosperity), & The Chamber of Commerce