Why THIS tuition fee rise is wrong

Yes, we are in a financial hole and cuts need to be made. Just want to point that out.

Im not going to come at this from a point of view of fairness, progressiveness, class, political ideology, income levels or any of the other worthy (but essentially circular) arguments

Instead, lets talk about society. An argument posited by some taxpayers is that they dont see why they should pay for other people to go to University. Well, here is why

EVERYBODY benefits from UK graduates. Our children are educated, perhaps even raised, by the Teachers that go through our University system. Our Doctors, Lawyers, Social workers, academics, scientists, business people and so on all do the same. These are the people that drive our economy, providing opportunities, jobs and a large proportion of income tax revenue that pays for the services that we ALL benefit from.

Yes, those people also benefit financially from their education but they have worked hard for it. This portrayal of them as a 'lucky few' is shortsighted. They work hard throughout school and through their degrees to achieve that.

So what Im talking about is a partnership. The student benefits, so they should pay something. Society benefits, so the state should pay something. This is about the sort of society we want to live in, not just about cuts or money. If we dont support our students and educational institutions, why should we expect them to form an ongoing compact with society. It becomes a case of 'F*** you Jack, I'm all right'.

This is not a society I want to be part of. These measures are being rushed through with little thought or time for a considered, reflective debate and can only harm the long-term future of Higher Education in this country

Imminent failure at Cancun

Well, its bound to happen, isnt it? Too many vested interests and petty jealousies. Lets face it, Governments are never going to give us the CO2 cuts we need to avoid runaway Climate Change.
Kyoto has achieved little other than to get countries talking (and, by definition, letting us all down once a year). Our own Government is overturning what it sees as bureaucratic and expensive regulations for new buildings, failing to address other problems and championing the consistently failing Emissions Trading Scheme.
So...... maybe its time to accept that we have lost this battle and will have to look to adaptation, rather than mitigation, as a survival route. Those of us in this industry maybe need to think about addressing our energy on exactly that. Energy. Carbon is so last week.
We are approaching Peak Energy, almost everyone now agrees so. Rather than finding new forms of energy, lets just reduce our ridiculous consumption. The UK is now a net importer of Gas and Oil and this wont change. We have found oil in the Falklands, but the decision to retire the fixed-wing element of the carrier force means that a serious Argentina could take and keep the islands. Even if we could keep them and transport that oil to the UK, we couldnt guarantee its safety- again because of defence cuts.
So, when we do reach Peak Oil and Gas, those with the resources will sell to the highest bidder- in this case guaranteed to be China as they 'own' most of the West's debt. Lets face it, all we can do is cut our energy use. Lets make our houses use less and ensure people have the ability to achieve Thermal Comfort long after cheap energy is a thing of the past