This is obviously a media campaign more than news reporting. a) There has been a sudden spate of stories like this — obviously part of an orchestrated campaign. b) A crack investigative reporter would have learned that large numbers of students already go to community colleges because of economic pressures.
Some observers contend that most state schools are unlikely to adopt enrollment caps… But others fear that amid economic turmoil and declines in state tax revenues, the schools will have no choice. Would-be students would be forced to either forgo higher education or attend two-year community colleges, many of which face the same economic pressures.
— Reporter Robert Tomsho on page one of the Wall Street Journal, 3 December 2008
This suggests that the Big Three auto makers are missing out. They ought to threaten that if they don’t get a bailout they will be forced to put a cap on the number of cars they will allow people to buy.
But if the auto manufacturers and university administrators really want to put the fear of God into Congress, they should threaten that if they don’t get a bailout, they will campaign for a sustainable economic environment in which people can afford their products.