31–40 of 771 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If it is 'free', then why are students in debt and liable for it? (and don't confuse the issue with current debt relief bill. The current bill has not been in effect since 1983, it is trying to give relief for this situation, not causing it).
It's free for universities who can rest easy knowing that if students don't pay then it doesn't affect them.
The only service category that has outpaced higher education is hospital services. https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/chart-of-the-day-or-century/
Main cause: Government-backed student loans. While it is technically the student paying, in reality the money is going (indirectly) from the federal reserve to the universities. Everyone loves free government money... The fact the student may never pay off those loans (and hence the government foots the bill) is the cherry on top.
I believe this is no accident. The government wants a world class education system and leading research. They could just give money direct to universities - but then it's hard to ensure they're getting good value for money. But by giving it to students to in turn give to universities they get better value for money. One day someone has to pay for that - and the students paying it back via loan repayments isn't awfull…
We're at a point where going into college for non-STEM degree can (and likely will be) one of the biggest mistakes of your life.
Did tuition grow that much more than inflation, or is inflation understated ?
Makes sense when you have student loans backed by the federal government. If an 18 year old with no money and no credit history gets accepted into a qualifying university, she will be able to receive a loan since the bank knows that the government will protect their investment if she fails to pay them back. So now young people have this easy access to credit, and universities can greatly increase tuition and fees wit…
Worse than just "backed by the federal government," the loans are basically protected by the government. Being one of the small list of things you can't bankrupt out of, the risk in giving out the loans has been fully pulled from the lenders. It is frustrating to hear the discourse over the inappropriate students that are taking on too much debt, all the while ignoring the lenders that are taking on too much risk. At…
The lenders are taking no risks since these loans cannot be discharged through bankruptcy. There are also very large late fees and penalties that can triple (or more) the amount owed.
The only service category that has outpaced higher education is hospital services. https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/chart-of-the-day-or-century/
I always thought the issue was in admin body count. However, just picking the largest universities in Germany and US on wikipedia we see:
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Academic staff: 5,565 Administrative staff: 8,208 Students: 51,606
Michigan State University Academic staff: 5,703 Administrative staff: 7,365 Students: 49,809
Those look pretty comparable, so what is going on?
I would love to see comparative data on how the average college-educated worker's earnings have changed during the same time frame! My guess is that the adjusted wages haven't risen much over time, or at least nowhere near as steeply as the associated education costs have.
Since 1980, that has gone up a lot. This method is
Makes sense when you have student loans backed by the federal government. If an 18 year old with no money and no credit history gets accepted into a qualifying university, she will be able to receive a loan since the bank knows that the government will protect their investment if she fails to pay them back. So now young people have this easy access to credit, and universities can greatly increase tuition and fees wit…
Worse than just "backed by the federal government," the loans are basically protected by the government. Being one of the small list of things you can't bankrupt out of, the risk in giving out the loans has been fully pulled from the lenders. It is frustrating to hear the discourse over the inappropriate students that are taking on too much debt, all the while ignoring the lenders that are taking on too much risk. At…
Makes sense when you have student loans backed by the federal government. If an 18 year old with no money and no credit history gets accepted into a qualifying university, she will be able to receive a loan since the bank knows that the government will protect their investment if she fails to pay them back. So now young people have this easy access to credit, and universities can greatly increase tuition and fees wit…
Worse than just "backed by the federal government," the loans are basically protected by the government. Being one of the small list of things you can't bankrupt out of, the risk in giving out the loans has been fully pulled from the lenders. It is frustrating to hear the discourse over the inappropriate students that are taking on too much debt, all the while ignoring the lenders that are taking on too much risk. At…
This was among a debate where people were asking for more federal and state funding.
Its crazy to see this point become so mainstream. I suppose it was inevitable if it was the truth.