Today, so-called 'college education' is a business. the schools today (most) are in the business of making money rather than 'educating'. I got my college education 50 years and it cost me $5000 for five years, including books!! I worked in the business sector of the 'white collar' jobs and did OK but I really did not like it. I finally (40 years ago) decided to work for myself and got into the trades ( which I still enjoy). For me, it is rewarding work and I have a sense of accomplishment virtually every day. I did not have that in the 'white collar' world. I may make less but I am much happier and am still working in my 70's in good health. The forgiveness of debt today is an easy way out for a political 'vote'. Yes, I believe tuition is exorbitant today and that is because education is a business more than years past. A student with a degree today walks out of school with a 'mortgage' attached. It's not an easy way to start. I believe some forgiveness is a good move but but not complete forgiveness. Anything for 'free' really has no value to the human spirit. It loses it value. The progressive movement wants to instill social injustice and look good doing it. Totally free is not the answer. Keep some incentive in the process and people don't get lazy..... and they will if given the chance..............
I grew up in Bergen County, NJ in an upper-middle class family (does that designation even exist anymore??). It was assumed, not even discussed, that we would go to college. With ties to Vermont I decided to enroll at St. Michael’s and was one of about 300 females that got accepted the first year they went co-ed. Needless to say, being brought up in a strict Roman Catholic family, studying & attending class was not high on my agenda at that time! By the end of my second non-stellar year I realized my Dad was now paying for 3 of his children to get that College Education, & his investment in my future was not exactly paying off, lol, so I dropped out. As immature as I was at that time I was still wise enough to realize not to bite the hand that fed me or take advantage of something offered. We were never raised to feel Entitled. I guess you know where I stand on this tuition forgiveness nonsense now!
Glad to hear your Life worked out well for you. Same here, eventually. Wondering if you are by any chance a plumber or electrician, Joe? The ones we hire/know are all “getting up there” in age & complaining there aren’t enough younger people in the trades to take their place. That’s another huge Beef of mine, but no rants on that right now, ughh!
John, I would rather work in sweat pants and sweatshirts every day and get my hands dirty! My writing skills are mostly to comment on Substacks like yours!!
Regina.. Joisey boy here! Grew up in Essex and Monmouth counties.. Escaped there 20+years....I am a remodeler by trade doing some plumbing and electric.. I now do mostly bathroom remodels including tile... multi faceted.... Graduated from Montclair State with a business degree.. Back in 70's, tuition at Montclair for me was $250 a semester up to 18 credits!!! Yo can't even buy a textbook today for that price (practically)!!!
(UN)higher education has been a for massive profit corporation for decades (I’ve been inside the ivory towers for decades) due to needing warm bodies, not college capable students but rather mediocre to subpar “students” for increased revenue streams. Look through any college course catalogue at the sheer number of worthless courses in numerous <Blank> Studies “degrees” and you’ll quickly ascertain why these institutions have become diploma mills: they need volume _over_ quality of students so that the bloated administration class can attempt to justify their existence and continue to expand in quantity.
We should focus on teaching people, especially youngsters, that modern loan structures are scams. Anyone who's paid back twice what they borrowed should be debt free. And that's generous.
Great article! Student loans should not be forgiven especially since about half of the loans were taken out for advanced degrees--at least that is what I have read.
Regarding the criticism of higher education, there is much to criticize but one must discriminate between institutions. I am the CFO for a small Christian university, and I can assure you that we are not flush with cash. As one who has served on quite a few accreditation committees, I can also assure you that many small private universities face financial challenges. In my state of Texas, we compete with the public universities that are largely funded by the taxpayers and larger private schools such as SMU that has historically been funded by their generous donors. Although tuition is high, it does not come close to covering operating expenses such as employee salaries, benefits, campus maintenance and the costs required to keep the doors open. In addition, federal government overreach (Dept. of Education and Department of Labor in particular) continue to issue regulations that place financial burdens on small schools that the large public universities barely notice. At our school, we must discount tuition for every student (we are a minority college) with some endowed scholarships but mostly from our operating budget. In other words, a pure discount which largely means lower pay for our employees.
We have been fortunate the last several years with careful business planning and generous donors to bring the school back from serious financial straits to a position of sound financial health. And yet we continue to struggle to get students competing with large public universities with many more financial and facility resources. On top of that, the demographics are changing dramatically in our country with fewer children being born and even fewer college-going students. Therefore, in one sense, we must run the university "like a business" by offering programs that families are willing to buy and keeping administrative and facility overhead to a minimum. The nature of education is that it is facility dependent which means we are disproportionately affected by insurance, utilities, etc. when compared with other organizations that provide services. By the way, our faculty and staff salaries are very low in comparison with other universities and the large businesses (3M, Kohler and others in our town) with whom we compete for employees.
One last thought, I know that college is not for everyone. (As a former high school principal, I often gave families that message.) But college is more than a job-training coop--at least at our school. For us it is also about teaching students to think well and to help them to develop morally and spiritually into responsible adults and citizens. Thus, although there is much to criticize about higher education (and I am very critical of the Marxist ideology and the dumbing down of the curriculum at many schools), it is always good to distinguish between those kinds of institutions and the many that have worked hard to maintain a high standard and commitment to truth.
What are your thoughts on allowing students loans to be forgiven through bankruptcy? I assume the universities would realign tuition prices to fit with economic reality. This would also mean a massive layoff of the administrative state choking universities. I have heard that many classes are taught by adjunct professor knowing tenure is a unicorn goal. When I hear 'useless' degrees, I am a bit torn. What will we lose if no one studies medieval music or writing or any of the other foundational building blocks of civilizations - including non western? I think we will truly lose part of our humanity with the loss of the humanities department.
In my opinion the issue is less about whether those meddling kids get off scotch free and more about why academia cannot produce an environment worth supporting.
You can criticize youth, but the average education at a state school is very expensive, and for any non public school it is absolutely ridiculous. And why is tuition so expensive??? Because of government subsidies. No 18 yo can get the credit to secure 250k of loans, except for in America. Sure the government throws out Pell grants, but a la ACA (Affordable Care Act) the government acts as loan originator through its FAFSA program connecting students with for profit banks for their “subsidized” loan program. Just like the government sells insurance on behalf of private companies. All of this money inflates the prices that universities can charge in tuition, and erodes the natural market process that would push a student with limited means towards the most affordable option. And the truth is that none of the degrees are worth anything. It is a big scam, that university presidents frequently make 7 figure salaries working at a “nonprofit”. Just like any other “nonprofit” its primary function is tax evasion. And then add in NSF - National Science Foundation - (CIA cutout) which provides funding for a majority of research grants and you get an entire academic endeavor which is unaccountable to market forces so it can do whatever it wants without making any sense to the outside world or having to be accountable to anyone.
So instead of debt forgiveness we should do no more government support! That would Make America Affordable Again. We live in a crumbling empire because we don’t spend money on things with a market ethic, we decide to live in centrally-planned-ville and are all poorer for every government program that is provided. The government cannot make one single thing that humans want to consume, they can only make it more difficult for the people who do want to make things for people to consume.
Today, so-called 'college education' is a business. the schools today (most) are in the business of making money rather than 'educating'. I got my college education 50 years and it cost me $5000 for five years, including books!! I worked in the business sector of the 'white collar' jobs and did OK but I really did not like it. I finally (40 years ago) decided to work for myself and got into the trades ( which I still enjoy). For me, it is rewarding work and I have a sense of accomplishment virtually every day. I did not have that in the 'white collar' world. I may make less but I am much happier and am still working in my 70's in good health. The forgiveness of debt today is an easy way out for a political 'vote'. Yes, I believe tuition is exorbitant today and that is because education is a business more than years past. A student with a degree today walks out of school with a 'mortgage' attached. It's not an easy way to start. I believe some forgiveness is a good move but but not complete forgiveness. Anything for 'free' really has no value to the human spirit. It loses it value. The progressive movement wants to instill social injustice and look good doing it. Totally free is not the answer. Keep some incentive in the process and people don't get lazy..... and they will if given the chance..............
I grew up in Bergen County, NJ in an upper-middle class family (does that designation even exist anymore??). It was assumed, not even discussed, that we would go to college. With ties to Vermont I decided to enroll at St. Michael’s and was one of about 300 females that got accepted the first year they went co-ed. Needless to say, being brought up in a strict Roman Catholic family, studying & attending class was not high on my agenda at that time! By the end of my second non-stellar year I realized my Dad was now paying for 3 of his children to get that College Education, & his investment in my future was not exactly paying off, lol, so I dropped out. As immature as I was at that time I was still wise enough to realize not to bite the hand that fed me or take advantage of something offered. We were never raised to feel Entitled. I guess you know where I stand on this tuition forgiveness nonsense now!
Glad to hear your Life worked out well for you. Same here, eventually. Wondering if you are by any chance a plumber or electrician, Joe? The ones we hire/know are all “getting up there” in age & complaining there aren’t enough younger people in the trades to take their place. That’s another huge Beef of mine, but no rants on that right now, ughh!
I have a law degree but now I mostly raise sheep and write articles.... :) We don't all have to be -- or want to be -- white collar elites. :)
John, I would rather work in sweat pants and sweatshirts every day and get my hands dirty! My writing skills are mostly to comment on Substacks like yours!!
Thanks for the opportunity to express myself!!!!
Regina.. Joisey boy here! Grew up in Essex and Monmouth counties.. Escaped there 20+years....I am a remodeler by trade doing some plumbing and electric.. I now do mostly bathroom remodels including tile... multi faceted.... Graduated from Montclair State with a business degree.. Back in 70's, tuition at Montclair for me was $250 a semester up to 18 credits!!! Yo can't even buy a textbook today for that price (practically)!!!
Thanks Joe -- all good points. :)
(UN)higher education has been a for massive profit corporation for decades (I’ve been inside the ivory towers for decades) due to needing warm bodies, not college capable students but rather mediocre to subpar “students” for increased revenue streams. Look through any college course catalogue at the sheer number of worthless courses in numerous <Blank> Studies “degrees” and you’ll quickly ascertain why these institutions have become diploma mills: they need volume _over_ quality of students so that the bloated administration class can attempt to justify their existence and continue to expand in quantity.
We should focus on teaching people, especially youngsters, that modern loan structures are scams. Anyone who's paid back twice what they borrowed should be debt free. And that's generous.
Great article! Student loans should not be forgiven especially since about half of the loans were taken out for advanced degrees--at least that is what I have read.
Regarding the criticism of higher education, there is much to criticize but one must discriminate between institutions. I am the CFO for a small Christian university, and I can assure you that we are not flush with cash. As one who has served on quite a few accreditation committees, I can also assure you that many small private universities face financial challenges. In my state of Texas, we compete with the public universities that are largely funded by the taxpayers and larger private schools such as SMU that has historically been funded by their generous donors. Although tuition is high, it does not come close to covering operating expenses such as employee salaries, benefits, campus maintenance and the costs required to keep the doors open. In addition, federal government overreach (Dept. of Education and Department of Labor in particular) continue to issue regulations that place financial burdens on small schools that the large public universities barely notice. At our school, we must discount tuition for every student (we are a minority college) with some endowed scholarships but mostly from our operating budget. In other words, a pure discount which largely means lower pay for our employees.
We have been fortunate the last several years with careful business planning and generous donors to bring the school back from serious financial straits to a position of sound financial health. And yet we continue to struggle to get students competing with large public universities with many more financial and facility resources. On top of that, the demographics are changing dramatically in our country with fewer children being born and even fewer college-going students. Therefore, in one sense, we must run the university "like a business" by offering programs that families are willing to buy and keeping administrative and facility overhead to a minimum. The nature of education is that it is facility dependent which means we are disproportionately affected by insurance, utilities, etc. when compared with other organizations that provide services. By the way, our faculty and staff salaries are very low in comparison with other universities and the large businesses (3M, Kohler and others in our town) with whom we compete for employees.
One last thought, I know that college is not for everyone. (As a former high school principal, I often gave families that message.) But college is more than a job-training coop--at least at our school. For us it is also about teaching students to think well and to help them to develop morally and spiritually into responsible adults and citizens. Thus, although there is much to criticize about higher education (and I am very critical of the Marxist ideology and the dumbing down of the curriculum at many schools), it is always good to distinguish between those kinds of institutions and the many that have worked hard to maintain a high standard and commitment to truth.
What are your thoughts on allowing students loans to be forgiven through bankruptcy? I assume the universities would realign tuition prices to fit with economic reality. This would also mean a massive layoff of the administrative state choking universities. I have heard that many classes are taught by adjunct professor knowing tenure is a unicorn goal. When I hear 'useless' degrees, I am a bit torn. What will we lose if no one studies medieval music or writing or any of the other foundational building blocks of civilizations - including non western? I think we will truly lose part of our humanity with the loss of the humanities department.
In my opinion the issue is less about whether those meddling kids get off scotch free and more about why academia cannot produce an environment worth supporting.
You can criticize youth, but the average education at a state school is very expensive, and for any non public school it is absolutely ridiculous. And why is tuition so expensive??? Because of government subsidies. No 18 yo can get the credit to secure 250k of loans, except for in America. Sure the government throws out Pell grants, but a la ACA (Affordable Care Act) the government acts as loan originator through its FAFSA program connecting students with for profit banks for their “subsidized” loan program. Just like the government sells insurance on behalf of private companies. All of this money inflates the prices that universities can charge in tuition, and erodes the natural market process that would push a student with limited means towards the most affordable option. And the truth is that none of the degrees are worth anything. It is a big scam, that university presidents frequently make 7 figure salaries working at a “nonprofit”. Just like any other “nonprofit” its primary function is tax evasion. And then add in NSF - National Science Foundation - (CIA cutout) which provides funding for a majority of research grants and you get an entire academic endeavor which is unaccountable to market forces so it can do whatever it wants without making any sense to the outside world or having to be accountable to anyone.
So instead of debt forgiveness we should do no more government support! That would Make America Affordable Again. We live in a crumbling empire because we don’t spend money on things with a market ethic, we decide to live in centrally-planned-ville and are all poorer for every government program that is provided. The government cannot make one single thing that humans want to consume, they can only make it more difficult for the people who do want to make things for people to consume.