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There are lots of different kinds of universities. If funding to universities was (relatively) cut, it was because demand surged. The California system had free

There are lots of different kinds of universities. If funding to universities was (relatively) cut, it was because demand surged. The California system had free, taxpayer supported universities but that wasn't sustainable due to demographics. Of course the story is different everywhere. It's not like universities are poverty pockets. Conservatives are not uniformly pro-corporate. There may be a central tendency towards "free markets" ( or some caricature thereof ) but that's not a central tenet. I follow the Arnold Kling model; conservatives are primarily concerned with perceived barbarism. People who work steadily are seen as less barbaric. Corporations hire people. Think tanks are an artifact of an expanding media system. I watch a lot of CSPAN, and they are a lot on there. There are similar liberal institutions, and varying degrees of conservatism even among AEI or the like. Much of that is simply exploiting the business model created by Wm. F Buckley. I know nothing of who goes into university administration. but the tendency of people to go into administration in general should be apparent in the larger culture.

woodandsteel 10y ago
As to different types of universities, the private ones still have boards of directors that tend to be dominated by businessmen, and of course the money in their endowments mostly come from rich businessmen. And as to the problem of demographics, as others have pointed out they should have handled this by remaining lean in expenses but instead went the opposite direction. You're right there are different types of conservatives. But the conservative politicians are almost all strongly pro-corporate. That is partly because that is where they get a lot of their campaign contribution. Conservatives who don't make the free market central I think should instead be labeled traditionalists.
- ArkyBeagle 10y ago
  There's only so much lean you can do. At some point, you will need to predict a growth pattern and steer towards it, and you'll be wrong. IMO, the most succinct way to explain education now is: we subsidize it. That which you subsidize, you get more of, and it costs more.

woodandsteel 10y ago

As to different types of universities, the private ones still have boards of directors that tend to be dominated by businessmen, and of course the money in their endowments mostly come from rich businessmen. And as to the problem of demographics, as others have pointed out they should have handled this by remaining lean in expenses but instead went the opposite direction. You're right there are different types of conservatives. But the conservative politicians are almost all strongly pro-corporate. That is partly because that is where they get a lot of their campaign contribution. Conservatives who don't make the free market central I think should instead be labeled traditionalists.

ArkyBeagle 10y ago
There's only so much lean you can do. At some point, you will need to predict a growth pattern and steer towards it, and you'll be wrong. IMO, the most succinct way to explain education now is: we subsidize it. That which you subsidize, you get more of, and it costs more.