Think this week's student protests about California's higher-education tuition hikes were justified?
Hey, the approved annual student-fee increase was only 32 lousy percent.
That's chickenfeed compared to California's tuition hikes in the late-1950s.
The state's college system then actually increased tuition by 100 percent, sending shock waves through scores of cash-strapped student bodies.
Students then were forced to pay $59 a semester for higher education underwritten by state taxpayers. That represented a whopping $120 annually for tuition at a state college.
That was back when California valued and provided big bucks for quality education from kindergarten through graduate school.
Corporate leaders now complain that American workers don't have the educational qualifications to compete in the international marketplace.
Duh. Most Americans needing higher education simply can't afford the outrageous tuitions at public and private colleges and universities. (22 NOVEMBER 2009)
