In his opinion column, Thomas Bray discusses a statewide petition drive calling for a legislative initiative that would require funding increases for public schools and universities equal to 5 percent a year or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. Bray says this initiative, backed by the Association of Michigan Universities, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and the Michigan Association of School Administrators, as well as at least two dozen groups, is a bad idea. Bray writes, " Michigan\'s public universities claim that the state has been short-changing them, forcing big increases in tuition. But the same universities claim their degrees are worth a lot on the job market, so why shouldn\'t students be willing to pay a market rate for them? Besides, substantial amounts of aid and loan money are available to kids who really want to go to college."