Published by King Shamus on August
15, 2012 | 5 Responses
Welcome To The Golden State—Of Absurdity.
The Cal State
University system has now announced that most campuses won't be accepting any new students for
the spring. And only non-California or international students for
graduate programs. Because money.
Cal State leaders have
told the university's 23 campuses they will not be allowed to admit California
graduate students for the spring term, which starts in January. Budget cuts
made the system in the coming spring term unable to afford residents' heavily discounted
education, campus leaders were told.
But nonresident
students — who pay considerably higher fees — remain welcome, at least at some
campuses, and that has become an issue leading some rebellious graduate schools
to turn away the non-Californians — and the financial windfall they would bring
in.
So a state university
system has decided to exclude the very students it was created to support. What
exactly are California taxpayers getting for their taxes that go to the CSU
system then?
I snagged this from Maetenloch's awesome Overnight Thread at Ace's place.
Read the rest. Now.
If you're like me, you'll have to read the
article a few times just let the epic doucherocketry sink in. Then you'll
dig deeper, hoping it somehow gets better. It doesn't. It gets
worsererer.
Facing uncertain
budget prospects, California State University officials announced plans to
freeze enrollment next spring at most campuses and to wait-list all applicants
the following fall pending the outcome of a proposed tax initiative on the
November ballot.
The university is
moving to reduce enrollment to deal with $750 million in funding cuts already
made in the 2011-12 fiscal year and position itself for at least an additional
$200-million cut next year if the tax proposal fails.
The move is a
high-stakes gambit that could deny tens of thousands of students access to the
state's largest public university system; it also pressures voters to support
the tax increase. That proposal, backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, is intended to
avoid so-called trigger cuts that will dramatically affect the state's public
colleges and universities.
Shorter Jerry Brown: "Hey
California, nice state colleges you've got there. Would be a shame if
anything happened to them."
Amazing, really.
Ya know how in a lot of movies, there's always
somebody who says, "We don't negotiate with terrorists!"?
Well, if the people on California have any
brains, that's just what they'll say to their hostage-taking governor.
California already has one of the heaviest–some say THE heaviest–tax
burdens in the nation. It "boasts" the highest personal income
tax rates in America. Only four other states have higher sales taxes.
Tax revenue has taken a 22% hit as individuals and businesses have left
to escape the bludgeoning.
But that's still not enough. Governor
Moonbeam demands ever more money get poured down the Sacramento suckhole of
Fail. Or else he'll stop letting Californians into Cal State.
Call his bluff. After all, what do
Taxifornians have to lose? If they do as Premier Jerry-Bear says, he'll
raise taxes even higher. If the citizens of the state say no, maybe it
will force the California political class to make priorities. Instead of
promising every nanny-state dream program, the government might have to…and
this is gonna sound a little crazy…make trade-offs between several competing
goods.
I know, I know. That's insane.
California will continue with business as usual. Because that's
worked out so well in recent years.
