On NC Spin this morning Chris
Fitzsimon argued that students at state universities are not subsidized by
the taxpayers because they pay less than the cost of their education.
He argued that since the state (he used the euphemism ?we? for the
state) owns the universities, it is impossible for the state
to subsidize them. The argument is that one cannot subsidize oneself.
Of course he is correct, the state government can no more subsidize the
state universities than it can subsidize the department of motor
vehicles. But notice how Fitzsimon twists the argument. No one claims
that the universities are being subsidized. It is the students who are
being subsidized. It is quite possible for the state to subsidize
students, who, in America, own themselves. Although I guess that Chris
could be holding to standard socialist dogma, in which case there is no
private property and the state owns all of us. In that case his
argument would be correct.