GOP threatens to cut WSU, MSU budgets even more

**drjeff** · September-21-11, 02:07 PM

Article here:

http://www.freep.com/article/20110921/NEWS06/110921020/GOP-lawmakers-move-strip-millions-from-MSU-WSU?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

The back story here is that our wonderful state government has already screwed the state universities by cutting budgets. Then they prevented the same universities from increasing tuition beyond 7% to cover the massive loss in revenue. MSU and WSU did some creative accounting by including the summer as part of the academic year, so now the GOP wants to punish them despite this accounting having already been approved by the state.

This makes me furious. They cut budgets to the bone and then don't want tuition increased significantly? How the hell are the universities supposed to continue doing their jobs? On top of that, WSU already has ridiculously low tuition for a major research university. If WSU loses another $12 million in the next year, the quality of education is going to suffer, and yet apparently the politicians don't understand this or just don't care.

**fryar** · September-21-11, 02:27 PM

I'm with you. These are investments in the future.

**Zacha341** · September-21-11, 02:46 PM

Indeed he's a slasin' and-da burning and not all along the usual lines of a republican. LOL! Much of the cuts where started under Granholm...

**DetroitPlanner** · September-21-11, 03:12 PM

I saw a list several months back. Many of the current members of the legislature have not advanced past high school, or at best a couple of years at a technical school. This is not all of them but the numbers are quite high.

You get what you vote for!

**rb336** · September-21-11, 03:22 PM

Hey - if you fund education, you get an educated populace, which is not what the puppetmasters want

**Melocoton** · September-21-11, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by drjeff

MSU and WSU did some creative accounting by including the summer as part of the academic year, so now the GOP wants to punish them despite this accounting having already been approved by the state.

I don't even see how it's "creative accounting." They included the summer as part of the last academic year, rather than as the beginning of the current academic year. Everybody [[except MI Republicans, maybe) knows that the school year starts in the fall. This is obviously a tactic to cut funding even more, and it's not surprising coming from this bunch.

**Malcove Magnesia** · September-21-11, 07:19 PM

Subsidized colleges and universities, more funding for public schools, yearly blooms of orange barrels on our expressways and roads, extended periods of welfare and other social safety nets, etc. etc. etc.

Last I heard, Michigan was in a serious employment & income slump. Could we raise enough taxes to actually cover all the various things people want the state to pay for? Even if you jacked their tax rates and chained them to their McMansions to keep them from moving out-of-state, I don't think there's enough "wealthy" people here who could pay enough in revenue to cover all the various obligations everyone wants to spend everyone elses' money on.

Get real. Things need to be slimmed down. Sometimes in a painful way.

**Original63** · September-21-11, 07:57 PM

What part of The Republicans Hate the Citizens of America don't you get??

All of their actions are to weaken the people thru weakening our government.
It will only get worse.

**Jimaz** · September-21-11, 08:13 PM

«Sigh»

Recipe for success:

Put on the GOP hat, get reelected to reform government.
Put on the government hat, wreck everything in sight.
Put the GOP hat back on, point at the mess you just made, exclaim "The GOP must be reelected to reform the government that caused this mess!"

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Same guy, different hats.

Their secret goal is to thoroughly eradicate the very concept of "public" from the human psyche.

**Novine** · September-21-11, 08:51 PM

"Get real. Things need to be slimmed down. Sometimes in a painful way."

None of which has anything to do with what these legislators want to do to the universities.

**BVos** · September-21-11, 08:56 PM

It almost seems like the GOPers realized they got played, didn't like that it was the "smart kids" that played 'em, and so now they're going to get even.

Face it GOP: you passed some bad legislation or passed legislation that didn't include every detail you thought/wanted it to have. Suck it up, learn, and move on. Don't be such a sore looser.

**Hamtragedy** · September-21-11, 09:39 PM

This from the same GOP that protects corporations from by refusing to plug accounting loopholes. This from the same GOP that protects "capitalists" from sending the jobs they create to communist countries.

But I'm equally tired of the spineless bastards who sit on the other side and don't do shit about it.

**Danny** · September-22-11, 08:14 AM

That is we proletarian liberals MUST stop the Republican Party for taking over all three branches of the beloved US government. The transition from 'free country' to a plutonomic nation must not happen.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

Keep voting Democratic and stay Socialist my friends for Neda's sake.

**guito13** · September-22-11, 09:12 AM

1 graduate level class is about 2K per student. The class I am in has 25 people in it. That is 50K in revenue for 1 class [[3 months). Lets assume the professor has 2 classes a semseter thats 100K in revenue for one semester per professor. To me that seems like enough money to get by. I would really like to see where all this money goes.

**drjeff** · September-22-11, 12:12 PM

Originally Posted by guito13

1 graduate level class is about 2K per student. The class I am in has 25 people in it. That is 50K in revenue for 1 class [[3 months). Lets assume the professor has 2 classes a semseter thats 100K in revenue for one semester per professor. To me that seems like enough money to get by. I would really like to see where all this money goes.

The price of tuition does not even come close to covering the cost of education at ANY university.

**drjeff** · September-22-11, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by Malcove Magnesia

Subsidized colleges and universities, more funding for public schools, yearly blooms of orange barrels on our expressways and roads, extended periods of welfare and other social safety nets, etc. etc. etc.

Last I heard, Michigan was in a serious employment & income slump. Could we raise enough taxes to actually cover all the various things people want the state to pay for? Even if you jacked their tax rates and chained them to their McMansions to keep them from moving out-of-state, I don't think there's enough "wealthy" people here who could pay enough in revenue to cover all the various obligations everyone wants to spend everyone elses' money on.

Get real. Things need to be slimmed down. Sometimes in a painful way.

The problem is that they took money away from the universities and then said they couldn't raise tuition enough to cover the loss. This is not slimming down, it's killing public universities and giving them no mechanism for recovery.

**guito13** · September-22-11, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by drjeff

The price of tuition does not even come close to covering the cost of education at ANY university.

Then show us where the money is coming in is going to and justify it, on paper, with no fuzzy accounting. One sentence statements are not nearly enough justification for throwing more money at a problem.

**dtowncitylover** · September-22-11, 01:11 PM

The GOP doesn't want universities to be affordable for the children of the working or middle class. They want to dumb us down so they can brainwash us into voting for them [[which, arguably, has worked). Remember, to them colleges are a bastion of the "liberal conspiracy" to "destroy" America.

**Hypestyles** · September-22-11, 01:40 PM

...nationwide, I believe America is headed for a catastrophic collapse if it does not work toward making universal, fully subsidized higher education a reality.. So many people are convinced it is the height of civilization to be saddled with a credit crippling, career-stunting, quality of life-depressing debt in exchange for a college degree..

**guito13** · September-22-11, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by Hypestyles

...nationwide, I believe America is headed for a catastrophic collapse if it does not work toward making universal, fully subsidized higher education a reality.. So many people are convinced it is the height of civilization to be saddled with a credit crippling, career-stunting, quality of life-depressing debt in exchange for a college degree..

Where will America get the money to pay for this? Who shoud pay for it since you shouldnt?

**Detroitnerd** · September-22-11, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by guito13

Where will America get the money to pay for this? Who shoud pay for it since you shouldnt?

Just stop tax breaks for the rich, wars of choice, and a crappy "health care" system that was a giveaway to big pharma and big insurance. We'll have enough money for anything we like.

DetroitPole · September-22-11, 02:16 PM

Originally Posted by guito13

1 graduate level class is about 2K per student. The class I am in has 25 people in it. That is 50K in revenue for 1 class [[3 months). Lets assume the professor has 2 classes a semseter thats 100K in revenue for one semester per professor. To me that seems like enough money to get by. I would really like to see where all this money goes.

Uh...do you realize a major research university is more than just a classroom and a professor? For example...
http://www.med.wayne.edu/news_media/2002/press14.asp
Research costs money. Research pays off.
Yet you won't bat an eye at spending half a million dollars on a missle.

What Detroitnerd said.

**guito13** · September-22-11, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPole

Uh...do you realize a major research university is more than just a classroom and a professor? For example...
http://www.med.wayne.edu/news_media/2002/press14.asp
Research costs money. Research pays off.
Yet you won't bat an eye at spending half a million dollars on a missle.

What Detroitnerd said.

Yes, I obviously realize this. My question is, if they cant afford to bring in the revenue to fund the research then cancel the research and keep the education going. Of course the research CAN bring benifits to society but in hard times you cant keep spending. Operate like any business would and cut the areas not making money.

**drjeff** · September-22-11, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by guito13

Then show us where the money is coming in is going to and justify it, on paper, with no fuzzy accounting. One sentence statements are not nearly enough justification for throwing more money at a problem.

Do some research yourself if you don't believe me. Here's one link to an article written by the former president of University of Michigan in 2005, even before things got as bad as they are now:

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=...QAZSHiMYgN9yoQ

**guito13** · September-22-11, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by drjeff

Do some research yourself if you don't believe me. Here's one link to an article written by the former president of University of Michigan in 2005, even before things got as bad as they are now:

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=...QAZSHiMYgN9yoQ

Read my quote above, if they are losing money via. research, cancel it. If they are still losing money when simply performing the role teaching then I believe they should have the right to raise tuition to the appropriate levels.