Hmm, my experience in 2001-2008 wasn&#x27;t the same.  While there were certainly funding issues the department worked pretty hard to try and do what it could to help.  Then again technically I was in the logic group so things were a bit different for me but I&#x27;m conveying what my math grad officemates and friends experienced (i.e. they said they had pretty much the same situation).<p>Yes, some people didn&#x27;t finish but math is hard and while the department is large and can be impersonal there were no barriers and efforts were made to assist the students.<p>The cheap labor argument doesn&#x27;t really hold water (at least during my time).  More students wanted teaching positions than positions were available.