That would be the members of North Carolina’s AAUP. As my Pope Center colleague Jane Shaw writes here, they’re pleading with the members of the state’s General Assembly to raise taxes (but “progressively,” of course) so as to avoid budget cuts that would “gut” higher education. The organization’s letter begs that the politicians not cut the budget so that programs that took 25 years to build up don’t have to suffer.

The more realistic way of putting the same sentiment is, “Prior to this recession, the state larded up the UNC system with lots of plums we like, and we don’t want to give anything up.” Labor unions follow that same strategy — whatever is gained during good business times becomes untouchable when times turn bad.