Advocate calls 'baloney' on higher education budget

Today's editorial in The Advocate calls 'baloney' Gov. Bobby Jindal's claim that his proposed budget spares higher education from further budget cuts.

Baton Rouge's own Gray Lady gets it right: "Behind a bureaucratic façade, the reality is that Gov. Bobby Jindal has again proposed cutting state government’s support for higher education, forcing colleges to make up reduced state aid with increased tuition and fees."

Advocate editorialists point out that the governor's budget, which they call "Category 5 political spin," includes a $50 million mid-year reduction from this year, and relies on tuition increases to avoid going into negative territory.

"Louisiana’s future is the poorer for this," the editorial concludes. "But it will provide endless material for college courses of the future, in which the political abuse of language is discussed."