Baumol's Cost Disease makes this failure mode pretty much inevitable no matter what schemes might be involved.
Colleges are full of it: Behind the three-decade scheme to raise tuition
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Re: Colleges are full of it: Behind the three-decade scheme to raise tuition
#22It's my understanding is that in many (if not most) colleges, the cost for a single students tuition is exceedingly greater than what the school actually charges the student.
That is, schools make up the difference by getting grants, and getting alumni to donate.
With that model, there is no way school can continue to operate at that deficit.
Re: Colleges are full of it: Behind the three-decade scheme to raise tuition
#23[deleted]
Re: Colleges are full of it: Behind the three-decade scheme to raise tuition
#24When it ends it be non-linear: the debt system that we've built our economy and currency on is going to eventually throw up all over itself as we reach Keynes' "long run" and, at that point, experience consumers simply won't have the choice to screw themselves with unproductive debt. EDIT: And, of course, the elephant in the room is the fascist government/corporate cooperation on student debt, which is now larger and…
I'm not sure what you mean by "throw up" but my prediction is that a large portion of these education loans will end up being forgiven. It's housing bubble 2.0 and there's just no other way around it -- millennials leveraged up after being told for years that college was the path to prosperity and simply haven't seen the prosperity. The default rate on student loans is way up because, by and large, we're not making a…
> Your best bet to make it in America is to leverage yourself to the hilt. If you succeed, the benefits are privatized and you can sail off into the sunset. If you fail, the losses are eaten by the public.
I couldn't agree more but I would say that it applies not just in America, but in many other countries too. We are seeing it across the western world at the moment, where, because of low central bank interest rates, the virtuous savers are being burnt alive to repair the balance sheets of the wicked banks.
Re: Colleges are full of it: Behind the three-decade scheme to raise tuition
#25In my opinion, college is worthwhile ONLY if you attend a university that is worth the cost. In most situations, students attend a particular university wishing that it will guarantee them success at some point in their lives without researching the ranking, quality of education, etc. In terms of ROI, it is a safer option to attend a Top 50 university than a for-profit university nobody has ever heard of. The discussion shouldn't exactly revolve around whether college is worth it, but about how we can improve the quality of education across the board so that graduates are adequately prepared for the real-world.
Re: Colleges are full of it: Behind the three-decade scheme to raise tuition
#26I'm very opinionated about colleges / tuition. Many people find value in it, or they justify it somehow like they couldn't get the education / experience some other, more affordable, way. My thoughts on the solution is the same for housing increases. Get rid of the government loans. In this situation also make student loans able to discharge by bankruptcy, that way banks will think twice about it as well. The easier…
Just a cap would help. Ideally non-constant e.g. average salary of a uni grad.
Re: Colleges are full of it: Behind the three-decade scheme to raise tuition
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
What positions require "BA in any field"?
Last I heard, in some cities you had to have a BA to be a barista.
Last I heard, in some cities you had to have a BA to be a barista.
Well, who wants to hit on a girl who didn't even make it through college? When that socially awkward 28-year-old "techie" comes in and pays $7 for 620 calories of milk, sugar and coffee so bitter that it would be undrinkable without all the added sugar, he's doing it because he wants to run "Day Game" on the barista. How can he do that if it's not a girl he could actually, at least in theory, marry, because she doesn't have a BA?
(No, these aren't my actual attitudes. I'm trolling. But most people who make important decisions in our economy think that way, although they won't those sentiments so openly. Sometimes you have to think like a horrible person in order to know how the horrible people think. )
By the way, of the economic elite that is running the U.S. into the ground-- the ones who control job definition, in VC, what kinds of companies can be formed-- most of them actually know that they're doing it. They don't see the long-term severity, but they know that they're making the world poorer and themselves no richer by shutting the labor market down. They want white maids. Downton Abbey is porn for them. But that's another discussion entirely.
Re: Colleges are full of it: Behind the three-decade scheme to raise tuition
#28The increase in tuition costs has actually been relatively small. The price for tuition, fees, room and board at public 4-year colleges for in-state residents increased from $7,400 in 1990-91 (2012 dollars) to $12,110 in 2012-13. At private non-profit institution the net price increased from $18,330 in 1990-91 to $23,840 in 2012-13.
Re: Colleges are full of it: Behind the three-decade scheme to raise tuition
#29This isn't a grand conspiracy. Its all about too much of other people's money chasing a large and growing inventory of academic seats.
Lots of well-intentioned and self-interested advocates have successfully made the assertion that more college == good. So Uncle Sam dumps billions into it. Kids and parents are pretty dumb at assessing long terms value.
All education is like this. When you hear about things like schools providing iPads to the entire student body, that's a signal that there is too much money floating around.
Re: Colleges are full of it: Behind the three-decade scheme to raise tuition
#30Democrats today worship education, while Republicans today worship the market, neither of which faith has brought us close to a solution. Extreme leftists cheerlead higher education under the belief that if you give the proles a leadership education, they'll eventually revolt and overthrow the capitalists. After all, the undergraduate experience was designed for aristocrats, and if people go from young aristocrat to…
What do Democrats have to do with "extreme leftists"? There is no remotely viable Communist party in the US, not even a Socialist party. Extreme leftists do not have any power in the US.
People who don't want to go to college have always had the option of not going. The difficulty is when people want to go but it is not feasible for financial reasons. Some people think it is nice to help others do whatever it is they want to do. There is no 'extreme leftist' conspiracy here.