...and one clearly undertaken with zero knowledge of economics.
Schools make themselves more efficient by using financial aid, merit-based grants, scholarships, etc. to practice price differentiation -- you pay a differing amount based on how much you're worth to them and how much you have the ability to pay.
The services they offer are rising in quality - the reputation of a UC diploma is going up, and the facilities available while you're there are getting better and better as well.
The demand for their product is going up, too - there's a lot more competition than there used to be for UC spots.
The freeze makes no sense. A kid with few financial means but a 4.0 or above GPA and 1500+ on the standard SAT's isn't going to have any trouble going to a UC, because he'll get incredible financial aid.
And if the middle class don't think their student loans are worth it for the tuition they're paying? They're welcome to take their business elsewhere. The UCs are far from the only game in town.
"I don't like the trade-offs I face so I'm going to demand a law" is not a mature reaction to the incentives of the market.
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CA Students File Ballot Initiative to Freeze Tuition
California students today filed an unprecedented ballot initiative with the Attorney General that would freeze tuition increases at University of California and California State University schools for five years, and to tie tuition increases to the price of inflation after the freeze expires.
The initiative raises new funds to ensure the continued quality of undergraduate education at these schools by imposing a 1% tax on the wealthiest California residents, and creates a panel of students and parents that will review how this new revenue is spent.
According to a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, more than 80% of Californians that were polled are worried about the cost of higher education, but the campaign will still be fighting an uphill battle. While most ballot initiatives in California are bankrolled by large donors and rely on paid canvassers, this campaign is working with a smaller budget and organizing students and other volunteers to collect the signatures needed to put the measure on the ballot.
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Schools make themselves more efficient by using financial aid, merit-based grants, scholarships, etc. to practice price differentiation -- you pay a differing amount based on how much you're worth to them and how much you have the ability to pay.
The services they offer are rising in quality - the reputation of a UC diploma is going up, and the facilities available while you're there are getting better and better as well.
The demand for their product is going up, too - there's a lot more competition than there used to be for UC spots.
The freeze makes no sense. A kid with few financial means but a 4.0 or above GPA and 1500+ on the standard SAT's isn't going to have any trouble going to a UC, because he'll get incredible financial aid.
And if the middle class don't think their student loans are worth it for the tuition they're paying? They're welcome to take their business elsewhere. The UCs are far from the only game in town.
"I don't like the trade-offs I face so I'm going to demand a law" is not a mature reaction to the incentives of the market.