Neal McCluskey of Cato discusses McDonnell’s increase in high-ed funding
By Bearing Drift | Saturday, December 17th, 2011 | Podcasts, PolicyNews came this week that Gov. McDonnell wants to spend an additional $100 million on higher education in an attempt to make Virginia’s colleges and universities less expensive, their students more marketable and such and such. But does it make any sense?
The Cato Institute’s Neal McCluskey, author of the recent study “How Much Ivory Does This Tower Need? What We Spend on, and Get from, Higher Education,” tells us “no way.”
Neal McCluskey of Cato discusses McDonnell's increase in high-ed funding; Dec. 17, 2011 [ 10:12 ] Play in Popup | DownloadTags:
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Bearing Drift
Bearing Drift has been providing an online conservative voice in Virginia politics since 2004. The name describes relative motion at sea - without bearing drift, you need to move to the right to avoid a collision! If it looks like the ship-of-state is going to wreck, move right; you can't go wrong!!!
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11 Responses to "Neal McCluskey of Cato discusses McDonnell’s increase in high-ed funding"
“Gov. McDonnell wants to spend an additional $100 million on higher education in an attempt to make Virginia’s colleges and universities less expensive”
Less expensive to whom?
knock bob all you want but I think he is well aware of how asian and israeli governments prioritize educating the masses as a means of growing their economies. I bet he also is aware of their system of rewarding good studenfs and sending unworthy off to serve their country in some other capacity if higher ed is not their calling.
Dear Turbo,
Why not take the $100 million from the existing budget to do something worthwhile? A novelty to be sure. What is the history of government subsidies lowering the costs of anything? It may mean person A pays less but Person B will pay more, a lot more as the prices escalate since they are supported by subsidies. In the middle of a severe recession, college tuition and mandatory fees increased by an average of 7.9 percent in the current fiscal year according to the VA State Council. The Roanoke Times article on this was disturbing. The emphasis was on increasing college graduation rates rather than some more relevant criterion. Want to guess how colleges can do that? I hope the reporters completely misquoted the Governor.
Shoot – Virginia, well, we the tax payers, spent 4.6 million bucks to allow Steven Spielberg to use our state house in Richmond for a movie. What we, the tax payers, got out of that I don’t know. Why should be subsidize a billionair movie maker?
QRow, Yeah, why should these professors be subsidized as they are driving our education system into the ground.
For what, activism? Maybe if they got back to teaching, then Americans would be smart enough to get jobs? As our political class puts it.
you guys, the objective is to lure more high paying employers to the state.. More revenue positive jobs will more than repay the state. The problem we face is that fewer bright minds can access higher ed and McBolling needs to make uneqivocal comittments to the employers we have and the ones we are prospecting for that Va is comitted to supplying educated employees that they demand. The gov gets it right. This is not simply throwing money to the wolves or pissing into the wind, this is logical and practical. 2 points for the gov and lt gov.
Turbo,
Wow, we have truly lost the battle for conservatism. There are more colleges and universities than there are churches and its not because they don’t have enough money.
Have you been the a university’s cathedral lately? If they don’t have one, they’re building it.
John, Hopefully more faith based institutions of higher learning can rise and vouchers to attend them become more available.
We have plenty of schools yes but not enough graduates to compete with the best of asian, israeli, german and swiss schools. Throwing money at education is a bad idea without structure and discipline and that does not appear to be what the guvna has in mind. If this looked like a raw deal I would hammer away at Bob but this is good money going after better paying employers of today and tomorrow. If we do not learn from mistakes of the past and the successes of our competition we die as a nation..
Bob McDonnell for president 2012 baby!
Take Note, This is what GOOD establishment looks like.
Turbo,
Nearly everything you say on this blog I normally agree with, but we separate. But I believe there’s information you don’t have that I do.
The problem is that Universities are still promoting Climate Change. Instead of teaching critical thinking and basics, they are teaching sustainable development and activism.
If you believe in participating in a world that adheres to climate change (which is really population control)…then this is your path.
http://www.clarku.edu/departments/idce/docs/viewbook/CLK_idce_final.pdf
If you wanna know why our community is so screwed up, look to a university. Don’t worry, these programs are in the United States.
Just look for change “agents”, it will tell you all you need to know. It’s not about fixing things, it’s about fixing you. The world will remain the same…well kinda.
John, I worked for the dean of engineering at a state university. There is a ton of liberal bs at all of them yes but all is not lost.. Some of the kids have a brain and come out with their heads screwed on and in spite of some wacko nonsense that goes on the lean right as they mature. Contrary to popular opinion some conservatives do work at state universities albiet under the radar at times. Lets not forget that many of todays conservative college grads saw the light and navigated from the left on their own. Bob got this right.
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