HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Reader Greg Gell writes: “Rick Perry’s newly appointed Chairman of the Board of Regents (University of Texas System) has confirmed that he has been charged with implementing a $10,000 four-year degree. Rick Perry is serious about bursting the bubble!”

Here’s the news story. Excerpt:

In legislative testimony, the chairman has pledged to cut costs and to do all he can to hold tuition level or even lower it. That echoes themes sounded by Perry, whose proposed budget for higher education essentially mirrors the House and Senate versions.

In contrast, UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa warned last month that proposed reductions would have “immediate and future devastating consequences for our students, patients, faculty, staff and the communities of Texas.”

Powell said his to-do list includes a bachelor’s degree program that costs no more than $10,000 for all four years, counting tuition, fees and textbooks. The governor has challenged universities to develop such programs, and Powell said he would have the UT System look into whether that could be done at one campus and replicated at others.

Using a car analogy, he said a $10,000 degree would be more like a Chevrolet Bel Air, a midlevel vehicle from a generation ago, than a Cadillac. There’s nothing wrong with a Bel Air-quality education, he said.

I’d prefer an electronics analogy, and note that my $995 Macbook Air is a much better computer than my $3200 Kaypro 4 was.