You Get What You Pay For

The UC System is hiking tuition by 32%, although it will still be a bargain compared to private schools.  This is an unsurprising step, since the Regents both want to pay for operations and send a signal to the state legislature that sharp budget cuts have consequences--ones that are painful to middle class voters.

The cuts thus far:

The impact on the University of California campuses has been dramatic: faculty hiring is not keeping up with enrollment demand, and many course sections have been eliminated. Instructional budgets are being reduced by $139 million, with 1,900 employees laid off, 3,800 positions eliminated and hiring deferred for nearly 1,600 positions, most of them faculty.

California's budget process is so seriously messed up that it is impossible to adjust to downward economic shocks and it is difficult to adjust to boomtimes either.

News like this convinces me that we are likely to have a double-dip recession as states cut their budgets, leading to new waves of unemployment and denied opportunities.