From Clark Kerr’s creation of a higher education master plan to the construction of a brand new research university for the 21st century in Merced to the development of an all-but-free community and technical college system, California has been a leader in public higher education for more than 50 years.

Today we are watching the greatest higher education system on earth implode: On Thursday the University of California System increased tuition 32 percent and still needs $913 million (not too far from $1 billion) in cuts to balance budgets.  On Friday students across the UC system protested and students at Santa Cruz and Berkeley took over buildings. Meanwhile California’s community colleges cut students, classes and staff at a time when community colleges are expanding by leaps and bounds elsewhere.

Has California hit rock bottom?  Some people say no; I say yes.  Why?  Any state in which the state’s former finance director seriously researches whether the state can convert from a state to a federal territory so the federal government can step in to address the fiscal crisis has no direction to go but up.  Incredible, just incredible.