Substantial investments by states dramatically increased the scale and scope of public colleges and universities beginning in the early 20th century and provided subsidized post-secondary opportunities across institutions ranging from community colleges to research universities. Nearly 50 years ago, economists Lee Hansen and Burton Weisbrod opened a hornet's nest of empirical and theoretical dispute by questioning the equity and efficiency of low-tuition and associated across the board subsidies at public universities. In the context of a classic public economics analysis, the question is whether a "high tuition, high aid" strategy would be more equitable and efficient than across-the-board "low tuition strategy" at state universities. This essay offers a modern primer on the "high-tuition, high aid" versus "low tuition" discussion beginning in the late 1960s, which still resonates today. It provides a summary of changes in institutional finances, including overall costs, tuition levels, and state appropriations. The final sections examine how these market and policy forces have changed the distribution of prices and subsidies in public higher education.