A blog post by Michael Wood, originally published at Third and State.
When you have a moment, check out this New York Times article on the impact of state cuts to public higher education across the country — and the impact they are having on our economy. These types of short-sighted cuts, like the 20% reduction in higher education funding proposed by Governor Corbett this year, put us in a worse position today and down the road.
The article highlights some of the "efficiencies" we could see if the cuts keep coming:
As state funding has dwindled, public colleges have raised tuition and are now resorting to even more desperate measures — cutting training for jobs the economy needs most.
Technical, engineering and health care expertise are among the few skills in huge demand even in today’s lackluster job market. They are also, unfortunately, some of the most expensive subjects to teach.
Pennsylvania has a long history of shortchanging higher education funding, coming in 45th (as a share of personal income) or 46th (per capita) in the the amount of state support for higher education in FY 2011, according to annual Grapevine survey.
If we want a well-educated workforce to fill the jobs of tomorrow, we have to invest in educating them today.