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LSU drafting 'academic bankruptcy' plan in response to state budget crisis

If you go with the business analogy, LSU is a division of the State Government of Louisiana. No business would intentionally reduce its revenue to where it could no longer adequately fund one of its divisions, in this case, LSU.

It is a financial decision. Money doesn't grow on trees. Budgets have to be balanced. It is time for management to get busy making the shortfalls as harmless as possible. Some things will have to change. Hopefully they will change in a way that won't affect the quality of education meaningfully. That is certainly a possibility.
 
If you go with the business analogy, LSU is a division of the State Government of Louisiana. No business would intentionally reduce its revenue to where it could no longer adequately fund one of its divisions, in this case, LSU.
As well, businesses are expected to turn out a satisfactory product in order to stay in business. The product they've been turning out over the past few decades has been well below most international standards. Apparently those graduating from higher education have been taught that the best way to increase educational standards is to sent the professors more money. Their students have learned this part well.

Measuring America’s Decline, in Three Charts - The New Yorker
 
It is a financial decision. Money doesn't grow on trees. Budgets have to be balanced. It is time for management to get busy making the shortfalls as harmless as possible. Some things will have to change. Hopefully they will change in a way that won't affect the quality of education meaningfully. That is certainly a possibility.

Let's not forget the importance of architecture. America
 
It is a financial decision. Money doesn't grow on trees. Budgets have to be balanced. It is time for management to get busy making the shortfalls as harmless as possible. Some things will have to change. Hopefully they will change in a way that won't affect the quality of education meaningfully. That is certainly a possibility.

The state government cut its own revenue, thats the part you seem to be ignoring. Big tax cuts come back to bite states: Our view
 
Let's not forget the importance of architecture. America

Cornell is a private university and a great one. It is not funded by tax money. They can do whatever they want with their money just like you and I can.
 
Let's not forget the importance of architecture. America

So the 1st pic in your link is some building at an ivy...

Most of the newer building are privately financed. They will build anything a donor will pay for. Here it meant a $100 million business school that wasn't needed at all and looks like a space colony.

A lot of huge buildings are a century old or more and likewise are no reflection on current budgets

If there's one fair criticism of most public colleges it's the administration costs, but that still doesn't come close to a 75% state funding cut in one year
 
I understand perfectly and that is a positive thing. Always better to leave money in the hands of citizens whenever possible.

Well that is your opinion, but that nothing to do with how a business operates. So you might want to leave that analogy aside. If the government is a business, then the government needs revenue like any business would to provide the services it is chartered to provide.
 
Cornell is a private university and a great one. It is not funded by tax money. They can do whatever they want with their money just like you and I can.
Of course there were other universities mentioned besides Cornell. I understand waterfalls, indoor and outdoor, are big on college campuses but it doesn't seem to have positively effected higher learning. Watch College Students Who Can
 
Well that is your opinion, but that nothing to do with how a business operates. So you might want to leave that analogy aside. If the government is a business, then the government needs revenue like any business would to provide the services it is chartered to provide.

I've been managing, founding and owning businesses for half a century. Are you sure you want to tell me how businesses operate? I'm actually trying to be instructive but that was obviously a waste of time.
 
It is so short sighted NOT to invest in a country's educational infrastructure. We will shoot ourselves in the foot!
 
I've been managing, founding and owning businesses for half a century. Are you sure you want to tell me how businesses operate? I'm actually trying to be instructive but that was obviously a waste of time.

Let me let you in on a little secret. Most people on here, myself included, have spent their adult lives working in the business in the world. We all know how businesses operate. Many of us deal with budgeting, projections, and so on. You seem to have this fantasy that a government can always just slash its taxes and everything will work out. If a state's taxes and spending levels were not that high in comparison to other states to begin with, then when it cuts its taxes by a lot, most likely it will not have the revenue sufficient to meet its public sector obligations. This is what happened in Louisiana, and it is what is happening where I live in Kansas.
 
Funny, the numbers say something which fails to support the bubble claim

Funny you would say so, given that "the numbers" actually say quite emphatically that we are in an education bubble.

Firstly, prices have skyrocketed well ahead of inflation even as deeper and deeper financing has become common among purchasers as has increasingly sub-prime lending. An assumption of positive return means a steady supply of purchasers, many of whom find that their investment is wasted as of those who go to college a majority don't graduate in 4 years and a little less than half of them will not graduate at all. And of those who do manage to graduate, half of them end up working in jobs that do not require a college degree.

Now you say that purchasing is starting to trend down? That's right, and because prices are rising while ability to repay has decreased and return-on-investment has dropped deliquencies are rising. Because it's a bubble - and the numbers say so :).
 
Let me let you in on a little secret. Most people on here, myself included, have spent their adult lives working in the business in the world. We all know how businesses operate. Many of us deal with budgeting, projections, and so on. You seem to have this fantasy that a government can always just slash its taxes and everything will work out. If a state's taxes and spending levels were not that high in comparison to other states to begin with, then when it cuts its taxes by a lot, most likely it will not have the revenue sufficient to meet its public sector obligations. This is what happened in Louisiana, and it is what is happening where I live in Kansas.

Best of luck to you.
 
It is so short sighted NOT to invest in a country's educational infrastructure. We will shoot ourselves in the foot!
It all depends on the quality of the education. Just throwing money at a problem doesn't necessarily fix it, as has been evident for a generation or more.

You'll have seen that the government always wants more money as well, but it doesn't mean the taxes they receive are well spent. This applies to governments everywhere.
 
The article in the OP points out:

The change would bring state funding for LSU from around $3,500 per undergraduate student to $660 per undergraduate student next year.

Now I certainly would agree that the cost of college has well outpaced inflation and we have to curb it. However, to go from funding levels of $3500 per student to $660 per student goes well beyond that. Cuts to curb cost growth might be a 10% reduction in funding or maybe 20%. They might also include a freeze in growth for x number of years. However, if you think you can cut funding to higher education by over 80% in just one year and think that will just all work out and the colleges will find the savings, then you are living in a fantasy world. You may as well start believing in unicorns.
 
It all depends on the quality of the education. Just throwing money at a problem doesn't necessarily fix it, as has been evident for a generation or more.

You'll have seen that the government always wants more money as well, but it doesn't mean the taxes they receive are well spent. This applies to governments everywhere.

These governors aren't cutting funds for higher education because of the quality. They cut because they don't want public institutions to exist. It's short sighted and will come back to haunt us.
 
These governors aren't cutting funds for higher education because of the quality. They cut because they don't want public institutions to exist. It's short sighted and will come back to haunt us.

It is more than short sighted it is criminal. These law makers should be locked away in their own privatized prisons. The money is going to their contributors instead of the people and there is not enough to go around.
 
Well that is your opinion, but that nothing to do with how a business operates. So you might want to leave that analogy aside. If the government is a business, then the government needs revenue like any business would to provide the services it is chartered to provide.

If the government is a business it can earn its revenue.
 
Government has no business doing that, by the way.

Why? Basic research, which includes funding for science, among other activities, is a public good in terms of economic parlance. Basic research helps build a foundation for progress in myriad fields.
 
Why? Basic research, which includes funding for science, among other activities, is a public good in terms of economic parlance. Basic research helps build a foundation for progress in myriad fields.

Government has no business spending money on research either.
 
These governors aren't cutting funds for higher education because of the quality. They cut because they don't want public institutions to exist. It's short sighted and will come back to haunt us.
What evidence do you have that 'they' don't want public institutions to exist?
 
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