You say lower and middles class families will be the losers, but that&#039;s an optimistic and even elitist view as well.  Increase that assessment to anyone making under $200,000 per year.  Those making between 80k and 200k can&#039;t get aid because UCs do not award merit based aid without economic need.  Paying for college will take half of what we have saved over 15 years and we have another child.  My parents are older and have already had 2 medical crises&#039; that took everything they had.  We will be supporting them soon.  In the end we will sell our home to support our kid&#039;s college and our parents.  Who is rich?  How can California be strong if it neither educates it&#039;s future, nor supplements students able to prove they are college ready?  This is like a farmer who grows crops for a living.  She plants this seed, watches it grow, sees she has a lot of great product ready to be harvested, but because she chose not to buy a harvester, she just waits for the wind to blow product into her barn from her neighbor&#039;s field.  Who in their right mind would do that?