Slowed Higher Education Spending and Legalization of Birth Control Methods

Please respond to each of the following posts, #1 & #2 (at least 100 words for each response). Each response should be substantive and add something to the discussion, rather than simply restating or agreeing or disagreeing with something the original writer has written.

Post #1:  

From the end of World War II through the 1970s, the supply of higher education increased massively as state and local governments spent billions of dollars expanding their higher education systems. This massive increase in supply helped to offset the huge increase in demand that took place as the large Baby Boom generation flooded the higher education system starting in the early 1960s. With supply increasing nearly as fast as demand, the equilibrium price of higher education only increased modestly.

Things changed dramatically beginning in the early 1980s. With respect to supply, state and local governments slowed the growth of higher education spending, so that many college and university systems saw only modest subsequent increases in capacity. At the same time, the federal government dramatically increased both subsidized student lending and the volume of federal student grant money. Those policy innovations were of great benefit to poor and middle-class students, but they also meant that the demand curve for higher education continued to shift to the right. 

That turned out to be problematic because, with the supply of seats largely fixed by the changing priorities of state and local governments, the supply of higher education was highly inelastic even in the long run. As a result, the increases in demand caused by student loans and grant money resulted in substantially higher equilibrium prices for higher education. In response, some economists propose that the best way to increase affordability and access would be to put more priority on the pre-1980 policies that increased supply rather than demand.

Post #2:

During the post war period "waves of activism ranged from peaceful to violent. Feminists continued to lobby for a variety of causes connected to equality" (Ch Ten 429).  Methods of birth control began to be controversial as "some Eurapean women reported being humialated by disaproving pharmacist" while picking up pills (Ch Ten 412).  In addition technology allowed the IUD to be developed.  However the "in eastern and central Europe, abortion was the most common form of birth control"; however, it was not legalized till much later (Ch Ten 412).  The numbers were historically lower in eastern Europe where women could reach alternative forms of birth control easier.  In addition "childbirth and conception itself were medicalized" (Ch Ten 413).  Although these things do not directly play into the womens movement (besides abortion).  The medicalization of childbirth led to a lower morbidity rate while giving birth.  Which meant women could live longer, while birth control allowed women to control their own sexual lives.  In addition to the ability to have a longer career if they desired.

In regards to employment "eastern bloc women experianced full employment"; however, it was in some of the lowest paying and least desirable jobs.  In addition to still being responsible for the housework without many of the new mordern technology (Ch Ten 417).  While in Europe "women dominated the part-time workforce" because it was part-time employers could pay women exponentially less (Ch Ten 417).  And there was a few women that rose to positions of power but, their "ambition was met with bias" (Ch Ten 418).  Margaret Thatcher was the first female Prime Minister (and longest serving) for the UK and she "reshaped the West's political and economic ideas" by making a "profound shift" away from the welfare state (Ch Eleven 455).  However the average western European women "work often involved smoothing out tensions resulting from technological and social change": flight attendants, healthcare workers and service jobs (Ch Ten 418).  While now in this age women had never had such an oppurtunity to go to university to get a degree.  Women were slowly gaining positions of power, education and work.  However despite these things there were still major deficits in the work and home life that many women saw.

The women's movement during the time focused on broad issues such as "reform in divorce, marriage and anti-birth control legislation in western Europe" (Ch Ten 423).  While there was also issues that were brought back up from earlier feminist movements such as "societal expectations about apropriate clothing and grooming, the problems of health care that were ignored by professionals, the mystification of and ignorance about women's bodies and what was supposed to be the mark of a 'lady'" (Ch Ten 422).  These are issues that limit a women to what she looked like and how she should act.  Which in Simone de Beauvoir's piece "The Second Sex" she argues that these societal expetations have conditioned women to"lack the audacity to break through its ceiling" (Beauvoir 377).  And this is because marriage is still expected of women and they are still conditioned to "build a nest of happiness; she remains dominateed, surrounded by the male universe" (Beauvoir 377).  They had acheived the vote and won seats in office and positions of power yet still expected to dominate the same sphere.  This was what the new wave of feminism began to focus on establishing equality in pay, sex, family, and careers.

In western Europe women began to take to the streets to protests these issues.  For example, "in Germany, young women students hurled tomatoes at the student leaders who refused to let them speak" (Ch Ten 422).  While at school "new feminists challenged both the sexism of the universities and the masculine priviledge of the student movement" (Ch Ten 422).  And there were positive results because of the feminist movement in Britain "it provided not only that women recieve equal pay for the same job... that they recieve the same pay for a job of comparable worth" (Ch Ten 423).  Which intention was to put a stop of employers who were cheating the system so that they could pay women less.

While "according to official Communist ideology, the triumph of the people in the Revolution of 1917 had automatically liberated soviet women" (Ch Ten 423).  However "the reality on the ground did not reflect this" like aforementioned women were granted permission for some of the lowest jobs while still expected to run the household and manage the children.  Some Communist regimes such as the one within Romania "outlawed contraceptives and aborttions" in order to build the population (Ch Eleven 468).  While when it came time for the liberation of eastern bloc countries like Poloand "workers and housewives had spearheaded protests for change" (Ch Eleven 466).  Authors "reported on job equity and terrible difficult conditions of most womens lives"; however, many of them were punished or sent to exile (Ch Ten 423).  One thing women did do in protest was "block their sons from serving in the Soviet war in Afghanistan" (Ch Ten 423).

A women's race, class, nationality or where she lived compared to the Eastern bloc might affect her view on these issues because of what issues are also out there.  What I mean by that is protest and the need for change often happens when a person is either desperate for that change but also has the means to make that leap.  Many women were desperate for the need for things to change; however, oppressive communist regimes limit free speech.  And it was dangerous to speak against these regimes to bring up issues.  And although protests in theory are relativly cheap; time is valuable.  And many women did not have that time to do so; however, wealthier women did have the time to campeign and lobby.  While others chose to prioritize the need and the desire for social change over anything else "passionatlly losing herself in the project " (Beauvoir 377).  

As I have been thinking about this discussion post I have been thinking about how feminism has now changed and which of the issues or expectations that the suffragettes fought back against are faced today? And how have they changed?