Well, Duh!!!!
Just maybe not the way you’ve been thinking.
The latest issue that Politicians have been using to divide us is Student Loan Forgiveness.
I’m sure you already know about it, and most likely have an opinion.
But let’s go back to the original sin: The Student Loans themselves, for a new perspective.
Federal Student Loans have been around since 1958, and have gone thru numerous and complex iterations to get to where we are today (newamerica.org Source.)
Now, believe me, there is a LOT of information out there about student loans, student loan borrowers, and why they should or shouldn’t be given forgiveness, etc. But if you know me at all, I like to keep things as simple as possible. My rule, in general, is that complexity is most often used to hide the truth, not expose it.
So let’s take a simple look at just a couple of areas:
The history of college cost by year.
Here’s some info about the cost of attending colleges from EducationData.org and a nice chart they made. It starts in 1969, but it’s close enough to the 1958 start of student loans (and the 1965 FFEL program start) to see the comparisons.
(Source)
Selected Report Highlights.
· The average cost of college tuition & fees at public 4-year institutions has risen 179.2% over the last 20 years for an average annual increase of 9.0%.
· The rising costs of college tuition outpace the rate of inflation 171.5%.
· Since 1990, average tuition and fee rates have increased 130% after adjusting for inflation.
2. The Average Salaries for bachelor’s degree graduates
Now check out THIS awesome chart. Only 1960-2015, but again, close enough for a reasonable comparison:
Figure 2: Overall Adjusted Average Salaries, Five-Year Increments (naceweb.org Source )
Now, the most important numbers on this chart are The Adjusted Average Starting Salary for the years 1960 ($47,442), and 2015 ($50,219).
The difference between 1960 and 2015 shows an increased wage of 5.9% TOTAL over 55 years.
Wait…. What!? You mean tuition increased 171.5 % more than inflation during the same time that salaries for Bachelor’s Degree Graduates only increased by 5.9% (adjusted for inflation)??
Yep.
College students were coerced and lied to about the benefits of a college degree. They were told that you must have a college degree to be successful and earn a decent living. Companies started requiring a degree to even apply for jobs. It was presented as the only way to get ahead, or even get by. Reminds you of Vaccine Mandates, doesn’t it??
Meanwhile, the colleges made money like crazy. They’re loaded.
So it appears to me that the real villains here are the colleges and the perpetrating government and politicians. The students and parents borrowed and spent a lot of money to get an education that did not increase their value as promised.
I believe students and parents absolutely SHOULD be refunded their student loans, which they were coerced and lied to about.
But it should be refunded by the colleges.
They are the ones who misused those funds and charged much higher rates than they should have. They have all the money. Student loans were just a massive shift of wealth from Students, their parents, and Government (so all of us) to universities.
But we all know that won’t happen.
So if you’re a student or parent loan borrower, and you can get it back from the government, have at it! They were the perpetrators of this scam.
With one caveat:
Please spend as much of
your savings that you can at small, independent businesses. Or start your own small business.
Big Colleges are just another form of Big Business. In fact, they trained them.