Good Letter:

UW SYSTEM
State is only a minority shareholder

Republican gubernatorial candidates Scott Walker and Mark Green need to take Economics 101 before continuing to blast the University of Wisconsin System's policies on pay and out-of-state tuition ("Walker wants to shake up UW System," Feb. 23).

UW is a "state-assisted" system, receiving only about 30% of its revenues from state allocations, down from over 50% two decades ago. The State of Wisconsin is a minority shareholder, so to speak, but still wants to act as if it owns the system.

If the state wants to create more access to UW for Wisconsin residents, then it needs to invest more money in the system to pay their way. If not, people from other states are lined up ready and willing to pay for those seats and to invest in UW, which has become, de facto, a semi-private school. Welcome to the market economy in higher education.

Gregory Jay
Whitefish Bay