Currently Wisconsin’s financial problems may be viewed to be as dire as California’s on a relative scale. Depending on what is included as debt, our state tax-supported debt is currently ~$1,800 to ~$9,800 per person compared to ~$1,500 to ~7,600 for Wisconsin. In response to Wisconsin’s financial situation, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker has proposed what some call his “nuclear option”, which has the effect of eliminating 50 years of relatively peaceful collective bargaining. With regard to the University of Wisconsin, there are also actions being initiated that support privatization of the University of Wisconsin – see the following article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WI_UW_MADISON_SPLIT_WIOL-
Other information and perspectives may be found in the University of Wisconsin clipsheet:
http://www.wisconsin.edu/clipsheet/index.php
The Walker recommendations have gone though the Wisconsin state finance committee (by a 12 to 4 vote). Setting aside the arguments for 1) contributions to the Wisconsin retirement system (public employees will be asked to pay about 5.8% of their salaries toward pensions, up significantly from 0.2%), 2) health benefits (employees will pay for 12.6% of their monthly health care premiums, up from between 4% – 6% percent), and 3) pay raises (would be limited to inflation), there are additional aggressive arguments made for privatization of the Madison campus. The following is abstracted from the links noted above:
University Of Wisconsin Leaders Ask Governor Not To Spin Off
“University of Wisconsin leaders have asked Gov. Scott Walker not to spin off the flagship UW-Madison campus from the rest of the system, saying the rumored move would create unnecessary competition that would hurt all the Wisconsin colleges.” Officials with the UW system “have spent years trying to persuade the Legislature to grant them more autonomy and flexibility in spending decisions.” But now, “with Wisconsin now controlled by a Republican governor, Senate and Assembly, the idea of running the state’s largest university more like a profit center could take off.” “It also could be a first step toward turning the school into a political pawn should subsequent administrations see things differently.”
As you are aware, similar concerns have been expressed regarding the UC system. The DFA, through the system-wide Council of UC Faculty Associations, has long been involved in the debate. See, for example, the Faculty Association article at:
http://keepcaliforniaspromise.org/77/privatization-is-the-issue
Also, today’s Sacramento Bee has an Op-Ed written by Stan Glantz, professor of medicine at UC San Francisco and vice president of the Council of UC Faculty Associations. Constrained by length limitations of the paper, it does introduce the issues: