In arguing against providing funding for state universities that even his fellow Republicans say is needed, Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities Chair Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, offers a quote from Thomas Paine about “the greedy hand of government (in the form of taxation and the demand for revenues) thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude.”
If Nass’ suggestion that the essential founder of the American experiment might have objected to collecting the needed funds for education, the assemblyman might want to familiarize himself with Paine’s suggestion that “those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it.”