In the richest country in the world it is a scandal that the citizens are required to pay for public higher education at all. So it should be obvious what our opinion of the latest fee increase is. A nation that is spending over a billion dollars a month on a “war,” and 50 billion on a big dig, should be able to spend more than a billion a year on higher education in Massachusetts. Educating the citizens of Massachusetts is among the highest obligations of the administration of this Commonwealth, yet public education was one of the first items on the chopping block when poor planning ended in budget cuts. For once, we’re not going to blame the UMass President, William Bulger. President Bulger has managed to decrease tuition and fees at UMass while the national average has risen. The new governor, on the other hand, has not been the most inspiring leader. Allowing the legislature to long delay submitting a budget has had a dark ripple effect. While this $350 fee is termed a “one-time only” fee, continued budget cuts and fee increases are foreseen by all. The priority the state legislators give to public education is evident. The fact that most legislators probably attended private colleges may or may not be related. But the public should remember who the state’s public education is for, and remind our Ivy-league representatives at election time. Every aspiring bureaucrat and his cousin promises to make education their priority-it’s time they put the money where their mouth is.