Studious college kids don't need college professors

We have a supporter of college professors  counting the value of a studious college kid, high. I agree with his numbers. If the vast majority  of 17-26 year olds in Illinois were studious college kids, Illinois would be wealthy. But the vast majority of 17-26 year olds are not what we want. If they fit the bill, we could dispense with the  college professors,  the kids are self learned.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- In spite of the overwhelming evidence of a skills deficit, a depressed middle class and growing inequality, the state of Illinois continues to underinvest in public higher education. But considering higher education funding as an investment that lowers state welfare and prison costs, generates tax revenues and leads to economic growth in the future -- and not as mere consumption spending -- could reframe the debate, according to an article by a University of Illinois expert in the economics of education.

In the face of recent dramatic examples, including the $300 million in cuts to the University of Wisconsin budget and, in Illinois, the failure to fund public universities and MAP grants for 2016 together with the governor's proposed cuts for 2017, the investment-versus-spending distinction is a vital one, said Walter W. McMahon, an emeritus professor of economics and of educational organization and leadership at the University of Illinois.