Our leaders in Sacramento are planning another student fee hike
and enrollment caps for this fall. But did you know that in the
1960s and 1970s, when these leaders were in college, the University
of California was practically free? The baby boomers paid virtually
no student fees and left the university without huge debts.
The World War II generation invested in its children, and the
state reaped immense dividends. The California economy exploded
with innovation and an entire generation of Californians moved into
““ and well beyond ““ the middle class.
But apparently, like most spoiled children, many baby boomers
see no connection between the sacrifices of their parents and their
unbelievable prosperity. They use their generational wealth to
convince themselves that they created all they have by themselves
and any request to reinvest in their society is
government-sanctioned theft.
As a result, we face a staggering student fee increase, adding
thousands to what we paid a few years ago ““ if you can even
get a spot in one of the state’s colleges and
universities.
Our leaders in Sacramento preach the holy writ of no new taxes,
but it’s the same spoiled, baby boomer self-centeredness
hiding behind a paper-thin lie. They’ve broken the
state’s financial back, cut back on health care and
education, and raised university student fees by up to 40 percent.
But they’ve rewarded themselves with tax breaks on their
Hummers, absurdly low property taxes and ever-lower taxes on their
hideous wealth.
The baby boomers were handed paradise on earth: a California
rich with infrastructure, essentially free higher education and
boundless promise for its citizens. But the baby boomers devoured
it, leaving the young, the weak and the old with nothing in
comparison.
Let’s not fall for adolescent baby boomer
rationalizations. We need to grow up and take responsibility for
the mess we’ve allowed them to create. The people who
benefited from California’s bounty must be forced to repay
the investment society made in them, whether they want to or not.
California must raise taxes for those who have created so much
wealth with the resources the state gave them. They have treated
the state of California like a bottomless trust fund their entire
lives.
Why should we pay higher taxes so the wealthy can pay a
pittance?
Thompson is a second-year graduate student in the
screenwriting program.