THE GREED AGENDA: ONE MORE WAY BILLIONAIRES ARE SCREWING AMERICANS
It's time to face the music: the same billionaires who shipped our jobs overseas are the ones who slashed state support for higher education. And the consequences have been dire.
Over the last decade, funding for public two- and four-year colleges has plummeted by over $6.6 billion, after adjusting for inflation. That's a staggering figure, and it's no wonder that tuition costs have skyrocketed as a result. It's become harder than ever for students to enroll and graduate, and low-income students and students of color are disproportionately affected.
But who's to blame for this mess? Look no further than the Koch brothers, the Walton Family Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Lumina Foundation, ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), and various conservative think tanks. These billionaires and organizations have been promoting policies that prioritize tax cuts and ideological opposition to public spending over investing in our future generations.
The consequences of their actions are clear: higher tuition costs, increased student debt, reduced access and quality, lower graduation rates, and diminished economic and social benefits. It's a lose-lose situation for everyone except the ultra-wealthy.
And yet, there is hope. Some states have bucked the trend and increased funding for higher education. Illinois leads the pack with the highest state funding per full-time equivalent (FTE) student, while New Hampshire lags far behind. Other states like California, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon, and Texas have also upped their support by 10 percent or more.
It's time for more states to follow suit and invest in their future by prioritizing higher education funding. After all, education is the key to unlocking opportunities and creating a better future for all. And if we want to truly make America great again, we need to start by investing in our own people.
So let's call out the billionaires who have been putting their own interests ahead of everyone else's. Let's demand that our elected officials prioritize education funding over tax cuts for the wealthy. And let's work together to create a brighter future for ourselves and generations to come.
THE DEEP DIVE
- - The average cost of tuition and fees for the 2022-2023 school year is $39,723 at private colleges, $22,953 for out-of-state students at public schools and $10,423 for in-state residents at public colleges².
- - States have collectively scaled back their annual higher education funding by $9 billion during the last 10 years, when adjusted for inflation⁶⁸. The average decline between 2008 and 2020 was nearly $1,500 per student, adjusted for inflation⁸.
- - State appropriations per full-time student have fallen from an inflation-adjusted $8,489 in 2007 to $7,642 in 2017². That has pushed up the portion of university budgets that come from students to $6,572 from $4,817 over the same 10 years².
- - Some of the reasons for state defunding of higher education include the Great Recession, tax cuts, competing priorities such as Medicaid and prisons, and ideological opposition to public spending³⁸.
- - Some of the consequences of state defunding of higher education include higher tuition, increased student debt, reduced access and quality, lower graduation rates, and diminished economic and social benefits³⁸.
- - Some of the billionaires, foundations and organizations that have promoted or influenced state policies on higher education funding include the Koch brothers, the Walton Family Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Lumina Foundation, ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), and various conservative think tanks³⁹.
State funding for higher education varies widely across different states. According to a report by the National Education Association¹, based on data from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association², here are some comparisons:
- - In 2020, Illinois had the highest state funding per full-time equivalent (FTE) student at $14,496, while New Hampshire had the lowest at $3,151¹.
- - Between 2008 and 2020, Illinois also had the largest increase in state funding per FTE student at $5,071, while Louisiana had the largest decrease at $5,500¹.
- - In 2022, 32 states reported funding increases to higher education, with California, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon, and Texas upping state support by 10 percent or more³.
- - Between 2017 and 2018, 23 states increased their per-student funding by an average of 2.4 percent, while 27 states decreased it by an average of 4 percent⁴.
Bing, 6/18/2023
See the Average College Tuition in 2021-2022 - U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/paying-for-college-infographic.
Most Americans don’t realize state funding for higher ed fell by .... https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/most-americans-dont-realize-state-funding-for-higher-ed-fell-by-billions.
State Higher Education Funding Cuts Have Pushed Costs to Students .... https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/state-higher-education-funding-cuts-have-pushed-costs-to-students.
Is College Tuition Really Too High? - The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/is-college-tuition-too-high.html.
DeSantis college plan would cut diversity programs, review tenured .... https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/01/31/desantis-dei-tenure-florida-colleges/.
2023 Average College Tuition By State. https://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/state/.
What You Need to Know About College Tuition Costs - U.S. News & World .... https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-college-tuition-costs.
What's behind the sky-high cost of a college education - CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-college-is-so-expensive-and-what-can-be-done-about-it/.
State Funding for Higher Education Still Lagging | NEA. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/state-funding-higher-education-still-lagging.
See the Average College Tuition in 2021-2022 - U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/paying-for-college-infographic.
Most Americans don’t realize state funding for higher ed fell by .... https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/most-americans-dont-realize-state-funding-for-higher-ed-fell-by-billions.
State Higher Education Funding Cuts Have Pushed Costs to Students .... https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/state-higher-education-funding-cuts-have-pushed-costs-to-students.
College Tuition Really Too High? - The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/is-college-tuition-too-high.html.
DeSantis college plan would cut diversity programs, review tenured .... https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/01/31/desantis-dei-tenure-florida-colleges/.
2023 Average College Tuition By State. https://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/state/.
What You Need to Know About College Tuition Costs - U.S. News & World .... https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-college-tuition-costs.
What's behind the sky-high cost of a college education - CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-college-is-so-expensive-and-what-can-be-done-about-it/.
State Funding for Higher Education Still Lagging | NEA. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/state-funding-higher-education-still-lagging.
