"A 19.6 percent cut in state funding last year, coupled with a decade of weak state support, "has left Penn State increasingly reliant on students and their families to fund most of the costs of their Penn State education" (Armario). People living in the state of Pennsylvania are just one example of the 40 percent of states that have had their higher education budget cut. A cut of almost 20 percent to public universities is outrageous, as it means that state residents do not only have to pay taxes but will hardly receive any type of financial aid to attend college. This is money that all colleges and universities absolutely need in order to offer American students the best possible education. The cut in budget spending will lead to the loss of well-educated professors, on campus tutoring opportunities, and will send computer labs to the Stone Age. .
To maintain the next level education obtained here in the United States of America, and to continue competing in the global economy, the state and federal governments alike must re-evaluate their budget priorities in order to ensure better quality and availability of education for American citizens. The United States only provides 3% percent of the budget towards education which means cuts for higher education are unacceptable and laws to protect the amount of money public universities are receiving must be demanded. The nation must call the federal government to action; education should be the number one must important factor in the nation's budget and must have some sort of guaranteed money. A solution to budget cuts leading to higher tuition would be for the American people to plea to their lawmakers to set a high minimum budget to go directly to public universities. .
Higher education in Western Europe is much more accessible and affordable than here in the United States. Until recent years all undergraduate students in countries such as: Spain, France, and Germany, have had to pay little to no tuition to obtain their education.