Where is everyone talking about the State getting out of the Higher Education business?  Am I missing a place on this site where I am sure Colorado Democrats are commiserating about the dire consequences of cutting over $450 million in funding for CU, CSU, Metro, Adams, Community Colleges, etc. etc.?? To be sure that we all understand the impact of these cuts, higher education funding in Colorado will be by far the lowest in the nation with less than $2000 per student compared to the national average of more than $7000.  Tuition is going to sky rocket, some of our colleges will have to close, enrollments will be reduced and teachers will be layed off.   Only the financially privileged will be able to attend college, and more than likely they will leave the State and spend their tuition dollars where they believe they will get the highest quality education.  And then what happens  . . . will businesses locate here when their managers and employees realize that they will have a difficult time sending their kids to college in Colorado? How will our undereducated Coloradans compete in the global workplace?  Without the saftey boost of college, what will the future needs for safety net government services be and how will the State afford to provide these services?  The consequences of this cut to higher education are far reaching and dire.  Where are we all talking about this? 

As there may not be another pocket in the state budget from which to find $450 million, this can’t be a debate about trade-offs between programs – we all know that this is about the fact that the STATE DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH REVENUE to provide the type of services that we, as Democrats, value.    Past legislatures and the citizens of Colorado have voted again and again to reduce the revenue that the State has to work with.  As a result, we in Colorado pay less state taxes per capita than all but 5 other states.  We can debate forever about whether this is good or bad, while the fact remains that we have limited revenue to provide critical services.   And now, with nearly a half billion dollar cut to higher education imminent, isn’t it time that we draw a much closer link between the taxes we pay, the revenue generated and the services that we can provide?  How do we plan to implore of our Democratic majority and Democratic Governor to provide the leadership and political will to speak to the citizens of Colorado about raising revenue for the State?  How do we galvanize at least the Dems across the state to “work for change” in our state and to put Colorado back on the right path -  a path fiscally aligned with our values!