Caution, public policy rant ahead...
In Aesop’s fable about the goose who laid the golden eggs, a
domestic bird has the happy ability to lay one golden egg each day. Greedy humans, however, decide that there
must be a supply of gold inside the bird, and kill it, only to find it is quite
ordinary within.
This lesson, that
overreaching for riches may end a perfectly good situation, is a truism in our
culture. However, there may be another
lesson that Aesop’s prodigious bird can help us learn.
Consider the opposite extreme, if you will. Motivated by whatever interesting calculus of
profitability or efficiency, what happens when the farmer and his wife decide
to reduce their feeding of the goose, to cut costs and thereby maximize the return they
get from the golden eggs?
This is a current trend in higher education that bears
stronger examination. If we starve the
goose beyond its ability to thrive or survive, will it continue to deliver the
eggs? What is the reasonable level of
investment in higher education that will result in the desired beneficial
outcomes to the individuals involved, and to the larger society?
It will perhaps be difficult to realize a return on an
investment that we have not made in the future prospects of our fellow citizens.
