I was interested in Ms. Laura Pippen's mention of the long term consequences of the 78th Ledge's HB 3015. As she points out, it seems to be having quite a few... unintended consequences. That said, I was curious to know the problem the bill was attempting to solve. After doing some digging I came across an interesting recap [ http://www.hro.house.state.tx.us/pdf/ba78r/hb3015.pdf ] of the bill.
After absorbing that, I suspect there was going to be a massive budget shortfall and a very unlikely chance that taxes would be increased to cover the difference. Raising tuition was likely the least bad, or perhaps only, way that public universities in Texas would have the ability to maintain services at existing levels. In other words, I believe everyone knew this was going to cause tuition hikes. It's just unfortunate that this deregulation happened just in time for The Great Recession to hit and allow the Ledge to cut state funding at the knees.
At any rate, I agree with Laura that this has put a massive and unfair burden on students and their families. I would also add that all taxpayers, including businesses, in Texas benefit from a well educated workforce; tax revenue as well as worker skill and ability are increased when high quality education is available at affordable prices. It is not unreasonable to expect all tax payers, including businesses, to shoulder some of the burden.
I think the other lesson here is young people need to pay attention and vote. I imagine the Ledge would have been a lot more resistant to passing such legislation if they knew it was going to upset a significant portion of their base. Sure, paying attention and having to go vote once every couple years is a drag sometimes, but it beats being a sugar baby...
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