"College for all" confirms an old truth: there is no free lunch!

The old Soviet Union operated outside of the idea of supply and demand; instead of the marketplace deciding the appropriate levels of supply, bureaucrats and the party apparatchik decided on the quantity, whether it was about tractors or bread.  Such matters are impossible for even the most intelligent human to divine, and it is no surprise that there were long lines for practically everything, prompting various jokes like this one:

After a long wait in the queue, it is now Ivan's turn at the window to buy the television set that he was set on.
"There is a waiting list" he was told.  "Come back in three months."
Ivan is unhappy.  "Three months?" he asks
Then, slowly gathering himself, Ivan says,  "so, can I make an appointment?"
"Of course, comrade" the woman at the window replies with sarcasm in her tone.. "How about exactly three months from now?"
Ivan nods. He asks "morning or afternoon?"
"Afternoon. Why do you need to know?"
"The plumber is coming in the morning." 

Ah, it was fun in graduate school to talk and read about the USSR.  It is a good thing I did because I can relate them all even to contemporary life, here in the US!

Here in Oregon, our elected officials have divined that forty percent of the adults should have four-year college degrees; another forty percent should have two-year college degrees; and the rest will be high school graduates.

Now, why 40-40-20?  Why not 35-35-30?  Or 30-60-10?  Aha, you are beginning to see the craziness!

When we--as the government--decide as that we ought to have a certain number of college graduates, then we are also compelled to follow-up on that by allocating public resources.  Higher education is merely one of the line items in the government's budget.  A forty percent versus thirty percent requires many more millions of dollars, which have to be re-allocated from some other line item.  After all, the  constitution requires us to balance the budget.

Thus far, the drive towards producing college graduates has been accompanied by diminishing allocations from the state, which have then triggered dramatic increases in tuition and fees that students have to pay out of their pockets. Well, most do not have deep pockets, which is why we have an alarming trend of ever increasing student debt, even before they graduate.

Against, such a background of scarce tax dollars, pushing for a 40-40-20 means the budget numbers will not add up.  One option might be to weaken the degree requirements and somehow graduate more students faster and more efficiently.  After all, how hard can it be to transform a university into some kind of a Fordist conveyor belt system, right?

In case you, the enlightened reader, think that I am exaggerating, rest assured that public universities have been asked to develop a degree called the "Applied Baccalaureate" that will provide an easier path for a four-year degree compared to the existing BA and BS.  I shall avoid this "inside baseball" discussion.

But, of course, even the AB won't be enough to help us reach that 40-40-20 goal.  Finances are tight.  Therefore, it is no surprise that the system is now engaged in discussions.  But, as in the case of those old Soviet apparatchik, these meetings are held in secret:

Oregon’s top higher education officials are engaged in a hypothetical analysis of financial pressures that the state’s public universities, including the University of Oregon, face over the next few years.
But they want to keep the projections secret.

Ah, yes, revealing them might harm the country's national security and al-Qaeda might infiltrate the college campuses and make biological weapons that will then be used against the American people.  Surely it is such worries triggering the secrecy, right?

Wrong!

Public release of the scenarios might cause undue alarm, because they involve tuition increase rates and tight funding for the universities, said George Pernsteiner, chancellor of the Oregon University System, which oversees the state’s seven public universities.
“If people see something that indicates anything negative, it can hurt,” Pernsteiner said

O.M.G.!!!

"It can hurt" us regular people, who are so weak!  

Praise be to the lord for providing us with strong leaders who know how to take care of us!  What will we ever do without such leadership?  Can they also take care of my car's oil leak, fixing which will cost $475, according to the mechanic?

“How are Oregon and the Oregon University System going to reach that 40 percent goal?” he asked. And, “what is the financial situation at each of the campuses? And related to that, what is the affordability of (college) for Oregon students?”
Over the last few years, by hiking enrollment and tuition, Oregon’s universities have been able to weather the state funding cuts, Pernsteiner noted.
“Have we reached a point where we can continue to do that, grow even with declining aid?” he asked, continuing, “That is not a viable solution for the future.” 

Ahem, one quick question, Mr. Chancellor.  Did you ever consider the possibility that the 40 percent goal is, well, asinine?