California is hurting financially and so its muscular governor and legislature have cut $17 billion over the past two years. College students are outraged and are demonstrating and taking over school buildings. Classes are overcrowded. Libraries are disappearing. People are angry and wonder why corporations are getting tax breaks while public education suffers. I would point out that I watched one of our state’s public universities stage several large football games in a colossal stadium this winter. That does seem odd if they are in financial straights. But in general such massive cuts in public education are a very bad thing for a state like California that depends heavily on knowledge for the health of its economy and for its future.