Inflation-adjusted government funding for each college student has increased by 31% since 2000. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and certain media outlets have blamed steep rises in college tuition on reduced government funding for higher education, but inflation-adjusted funding for each college student is currently at an all-time high and has nearly tripled since 1960. Tuition has risen primarily because colleges are spending more money per student. In conjunction with this, colleges have significantly reduced academic workloads, inflated grades, and failed to instill practical and literacy skills in significant portions of their students.