The linked article shows no such thing as &quot;state funding for higher education monotonically decreasing since the 80s&quot;. Figure 7 only shows <i>share</i> of state funding decreasing. Note that this can happen if tuition is increasing faster than state funding, even if state funding increases or stays the same.<p>Figure 7&#x27;s source is State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, so let&#x27;s get the report directly from the source. Here is the latest report: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sheeo.org&#x2F;sites&#x2F;default&#x2F;files&#x2F;project-files&#x2F;SHEF%20FY%202014-20150410.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sheeo.org&#x2F;sites&#x2F;default&#x2F;files&#x2F;project-files&#x2F;SHEF%...</a>. Figure 2 shows inflation adjusted, per student state funding peaked in 2001 rather than monotonically decreasing since the 80s.