SPEAKING OF SPECIAL PLEADING. Airport boosters do it. The St. Lawrence Seaway managers do it. Higher ed does it, too.

States have significant control over higher education - and a real economic interest in its success. Wisconsin spends roughly $1 billion on its university system, which generates $10 billion annually to the state's economy, according to a University of Wisconsin report.

Across the country, higher education boosts tax revenues, cuts dependence on welfare, and boosts community service among other social benefits, according to the Institute for Higher Education Policy in Washington.

(Via Joanne Jacobs.)