A College Parking Lot, Deficit Reduction, and Public Investment
Last week I spent two days visiting the University of California-Berkeley, one of the nation's most prestigious higher education and research institutions. Walking the campus linked UCB's major accomplishments - ranging from STEM to public policy - with the buildings that housed the people that created them. The throngs of passing students were a United Nations in languages and dress.
This is a public university, created and run by the state of California and funded by the taxpayer. Rivaling well- known private selective institutions, UCB produces state, national, and international leaders in almost every field. This is a publicly-funded institution where the physics building's parking lot has six prime spots "Reserved for Nobel Laureates."
Yet even this major institution that has created much of California's intellectual infrastructure and resulting economic growth has seen reductions in state investment in past years. Against the backdrop of my walk, I replayed the constant political refrain that ending deficit spending is the most important issue facing the nation. Read Entire Post
