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| (B.W. photo) |
Inflation relief? Well, why not? The people appear stressed and so "government is here to help." Didn't Ronald Reagan get laughs by parodying the government when it says "I'm from the government and I'm here to help?"
It's such a popular thing to decry socialism. As much as we feel government can be ungainly, well, that is where we all naturally turn. Even the supposed "naked capitalists" turned to government in 2008, right? We got the TARP legislation. Where else would one seek help? It's like the bank in the gimlet eye of the robber: "where the money is."
The trouble with colleges
We have known since the Clinton presidency that when government enacts measures to "help families of college students," colleges just react by raising tuition. The colleges end up showing further signs of stress - wouldn't you know? - and then they expect more support. It's the easiest relief one can find: support from the government.
Where else would you turn to? It's "where the money is."
We pay lip service to the old dictum of "hating socialism." We want to thump our chests about being so self-reliant. Mostly it's an act, fills a psychological need. David Stockman called the 2008 "financial crisis" the "Blackberry crisis." The crisis was not an act of God. Obviously we should have just let capitalism work the way it's supposed to. That would make too much sense. People and special interests just plead "stress" because, doggone it, life is just full of that commodity, n'est-ce pas? And there's the government with the money.
Help out college students? Colleges raise tuition and continue these "arms races" with each other, for more amenities. I laugh about the "climbing walls." I'd like to see the days return of college campuses and even K-12 schools being mostly utilitarian places. Forget the awe-inspiring impression. We began seeing new public schools built with such elaborate "commons areas," gyms bigger than the needs suggested. Government was trying to sell the public on its schemes.
The essential task
Schools are places for young people to do essential learning. Colleges are really just way stations for this, relatively brief. Let's borrow a word the Federal Reserve made famous recently: "transitory." Oh, it wasn't long before the Fed had to do a turnaround and say the word was really totally wrong. The Fed had said inflation was "transitory." Was the Fed just wrong on that, or was the Fed just plain lying?
Maybe the Fed was just trying to keep the situation calm - no point in arousing the masses. The government, of which the Fed is a mysterious sort of extension, is always looking over its shoulder, making sure that if all else fails, it can prevent a violent mass uprising. As Greg Mannarino has so clearly explained, the purpose of government is not to help the people, it's to survive.
History has shown how "the masses" can rise up and regimes can fall. Can't happen here? Well it certainly could. Sinclair Lewis wrote a book "It Can't Happen Here," his focus being on German-style autocracy. Look how far Donald Trump and his crowd pushed toward autocracy. We may not have escaped the threat yet. Democracies are fragile.
If Maine finds it necessary to distribute "inflation relief," what kind of road might we be headed down? As for my Clinton-inspired thought about how subsidies for colleges just lead to more bloat and more demands, look at what's happening in Minnesota now. The Star Tribune headline: "University of Minnesota proposes up to $11,000 in new scholarships for residents who enroll at regional campuses." The subhead: "Resident students who enroll as freshmen could get thousands in new scholarship aid." Well, aren't the "scholarships" nice? Such a lofty ideal, right? But the pleading never ends for more government support of "education" at all levels. This in the age of the Internet, where all the information in the world is online. You can teach yourself trigonometry by going to YouTube. Well, maybe I couldn't, but this is what I hear.
We learn that "state lawmakers" may choose to fund the new program that would be a shot in the arm for our UMM (or UMN, "in the middle of somewhere").
The U has asked the legislature for $30 million to create a new Greater Minnesota Scholarship Program for resident students who enroll as freshmen at its Duluth, Rochester, Crookston and MORRIS campuses. I guess our campus has a top administrator with her office in Crookston, if you can figure all this out.
"University leaders say the program would lower the average student debt for graduates by a significant amount and help boost enrollment." Ah, "boosting enrollment." Progress. But is it a genuine response to demand? Isn't higher education better able to sell its rewards in a way that doesn't make subsidy so essential? Like maybe with fewer "climbing walls?"
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| The unforgettable Jim Carlson, at right |
Why might UMM need special help? Yesterday I watched the tribute video to the late Jim Carlson which is on YouTube. The video has been around for a while, but it is now sharpened from its previous "archival" quality.
The video is an absolute must-see for everyone. It almost makes me cry. The UMM jazz program as it existed under Carlson is completely gone now. Stored only in historical accounts and people's memories. That's not to say other aspects of UMM music were not strong also. We see John Stanley Ross speaking in the tribute video. He was a real asset here. He and my late father Ralph E. Williams had a close friendship.
I think we all came to take for granted the vitality of UMM music, like it would be around forever. Go to the HFA on any concert night and the hallway would be filled with highly enthused, highly talented musicians who came here from a vast array of places. We assumed this would always be with us.
Carlson's old jazz program is gone. You might say it put Morris on the map at one time. Why did we let go of something like this? These are conscious decisions made by people in positions of authority. These are the people who, at present, I'm sure are smiling and glad-handing as they seek greater funding from the legislature for "Greater Minnesota."
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| Music for UMM graduation (B.W. photo) |
I personally do not think the UMM choir has had a good year. Although I spoke to people in a positive way after the most recent choir concert, I was disappointed. Please do not take my word for this. A friend of mine with high standing in the community was at the concert and she emailed me the following:
I was disappointed with the choir concert last night. Just mediocre except for the guitarist. I think back to Ken’s or Brad Miller’s choirs (your dad was before my time) and a 25-member choir just seems sad.
More intriguing background
I quote below from an email from a different acquaintance. If this makes me cry, it's for a different reason. Could the Crookston chancellor reverse some of the things we read about here? Shall we become "Crookston South?" Jack Imholte the "Silver Fox" would faint. Please read:
I’ve heard no negative comments relative to the UMM choir this year, other than that the numbers went down a lot from last semester to this. But, the same thing happened to the Symphonic Winds and Jazz Band – both of those suffered serious drops in enrollment since last semester. I don’t know why that is – students dropping out? Transferring? Having conflicting class schedules? Who knows. You do remember that the UMM Jazz Dept. was severely handcuffed by the actions of that German dude, Martin what’s-his-name, who somehow assumed control of the music department after having been here only a couple of years. He wanted UMM to become a music conservatory, and felt that the “heathen music” embodied by jazz would curtail that.
If that former UMM Jazz disciple of Jim’s (Joel V) had been hired to replace Jim, and had Martin moved on at that point, the jazz program wouldn't have missed a beat (so to speak) and kept right on rolling along. But, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a happy Easter.
Once an entity like UMM music begins faltering, righting the ship can be arduous. The solution? More money from the state? Or should UMM back off from so much marketing and PR and put its eggs in the basket of "programs and people." Rhetorical question.
Carlson was all about people, excitement and talent.
Here is the link to the tribute video to the late Jim Carlson, who we lost at Christmas:
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| A treasured color photo of the UMM men's chorus, 1960s, Ralph E. Williams, director |
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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