Why Students (and Barack Obama) Should Shut Up Already About College Costs

[P@triot]

It’s back-to-college time, which means it’s the season for bitching and moaning about rising college costs, lack of access to higher education, and the pressing need for even more taxpayer-funded subsidies to the leaders of tomorrow. In just the past few weeks, we’ve been subjected to breathless reports that “college tuition costs” have risen 500 percent since 1985 and a mini campaign swing by President Obama touting more free money for students and a federally sanctioned knockoff of college guides already provided by the Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, Washington Monthly, Barron’s, and countless other sources.

Enough already. The plain facts are that college is still well within reach of most Americans, the wage premium for a college sheepskin remains huge, and student loans are not a new form of indentured servitude. You wouldn’t get any of that from grandstanding politicians always looking for a new way to rob Peter to buy Paul’s vote, an educational establishment that’s always on the hunt for new revenue sources, and a news media that alternates between the credulity and ignorance of, well, a first-semester freshman.

Why Students (and Barack Obama) Should Shut Up Already About College Costs - Reason.com

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

How old are you and how much did you pay to go college (assuming you went?)

 

[Seawytch]

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/20...ee-in-u-s-soars-12-fold-chart-of-the-day.html

college tuition and fees have surged 1,120 percent since records began in 1978, four times faster than the increase in the consumer price index. Medical expenses have climbed 601 percent, while the price of food has increased 244 percent over the same period.

 

[P@triot]

How old are you and how much did you pay to go college (assuming you went?)

I went to college. What difference does it make how old I am? My parents couldn't afford to send me to college, so I put myself through.

 

[P@triot]

Cost of College Degree in U.S. Soars 12 Fold: Chart of the Day - Bloomberg

college tuition and fees have surged 1,120 percent since records began in 1978, four times faster than the increase in the consumer price index. Medical expenses have climbed 601 percent, while the price of food has increased 244 percent over the same period.

And your point would be [MENTION=24452]Seawytch[/MENTION]?!?

Is there some secret law we don't know about which says college tuition can't increase at a rate faster than food?

 

[bendog]

yah, slap yourself. It might help you.

 

[P@triot]

Cost of College Degree in U.S. Soars 12 Fold: Chart of the Day - Bloomberg

college tuition and fees have surged 1,120 percent since records began in 1978, four times faster than the increase in the consumer price index. Medical expenses have climbed 601 percent, while the price of food has increased 244 percent over the same period.

If college tuition were more than the American people could afford, then America's universities would be empty...

And if they were empty, guess what would happen to the cost of college tuition? It would plummet to less than the cost of a cheeseburger.

But instead, thanks to libtard "logic" (like that used by Seawytch here), the prices artificially skyrocket because the universities know dumbocrats are dumb enough to keep throwing money at the "problem"

 

[P@triot]

It’s back-to-college time, which means it’s the season for bitching and moaning about rising college costs, lack of access to higher education, and the pressing need for even more taxpayer-funded subsidies to the leaders of tomorrow. In just the past few weeks, we’ve been subjected to breathless reports that “college tuition costs” have risen 500 percent since 1985 and a mini campaign swing by President Obama touting more free money for students and a federally sanctioned knockoff of college guides already provided by the Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, Washington Monthly, Barron’s, and countless other sources.

Enough already. The plain facts are that college is still well within reach of most Americans, the wage premium for a college sheepskin remains huge, and student loans are not a new form of indentured servitude. You wouldn’t get any of that from grandstanding politicians always looking for a new way to rob Peter to buy Paul’s vote, an educational establishment that’s always on the hunt for new revenue sources, and a news media that alternates between the credulity and ignorance of, well, a first-semester freshman.

Why Students (and Barack Obama) Should Shut Up Already About College Costs - Reason.com

Sadly, this is the cause of every real problem America faces (crushing debts, oppressive government, stifling regulations, etc.). The Dumbocrats have mastered manufacturing artificial "problems" (like the "cost" of healthcare, education, etc.) so that they can rob Peter to buy Paul's vote. And they figured out how to keep their voter block ignorant enough to buy their manufactured "problems".

 

[midcan5]

It is sorta weird that Reason would not understand college costs and the reasons (pi). Anyone on line here move around in the upper class circles of America, say the top 10 percentile? Maids and housekeepers may know more than Reason does. Not only is college about class and class structure but even pre-school, grade school, and HS are determinants of class in America. I know people who spend more on grade school and HS than most people make in a few years. It matters and costs, because it is status, like a status neighborhood, or a status car, or handbag, the rich may not be different, but they sure as heck live differently.

As far as the whining over cost, that is mostly a slight realization of the reality that money talks - and by talk I mean works too. The poor are poor for more reasons than because they are poor. If you understand that sentence you should write for Reason as they are lost in the place where they think they belong and don't even realize it exists.

"Cocooned in the same neighborhoods, this new upper class has its own culture. Its members don’t watch game shows or go to bars with pool tables in them. They are skinnier. They don’t smoke. They are, Murray insists, predominantly liberal*. Yet this overclass, Murray finds, is also truer to the founding American virtues than is the white working class....

"Using a statistical construct he calls Fishtown — inspired by an actual white, blue-collar neighborhood of the same name in Philadelphia — Murray sorts through demographic data to present a startling picture. Women in Fishtown now routinely have children outside of marriage. Less than a third of its children grow up in households that include both biological parents. The men claim physical disability at astounding rates and are less likely to hold down jobs than in the past. Churchgoing among the white working class has declined, eroding the social capital that organized religion once provided."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/b...-the-white-working-class-in-coming-apart.html

* I don't find the upper class liberal except in the social sphere.

 

[jasonnfree]

It’s back-to-college time, which means it’s the season for bitching and moaning about rising college costs, lack of access to higher education, and the pressing need for even more taxpayer-funded subsidies to the leaders of tomorrow. In just the past few weeks, we’ve been subjected to breathless reports that “college tuition costs” have risen 500 percent since 1985 and a mini campaign swing by President Obama touting more free money for students and a federally sanctioned knockoff of college guides already provided by the Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, Washington Monthly, Barron’s, and countless other sources.

Enough already. The plain facts are that college is still well within reach of most Americans, the wage premium for a college sheepskin remains huge, and student loans are not a new form of indentured servitude. You wouldn’t get any of that from grandstanding politicians always looking for a new way to rob Peter to buy Paul’s vote, an educational establishment that’s always on the hunt for new revenue sources, and a news media that alternates between the credulity and ignorance of, well, a first-semester freshman.

Why Students (and Barack Obama) Should Shut Up Already About College Costs - Reason.com

The cost of education is nowhere as affordable as it was 30 or 40 years ago. The g.i. bill and a part time job could put a guy through college in the early 70's.

 

[jasonnfree]

It’s back-to-college time, which means it’s the season for bitching and moaning about rising college costs, lack of access to higher education, and the pressing need for even more taxpayer-funded subsidies to the leaders of tomorrow. In just the past few weeks, we’ve been subjected to breathless reports that “college tuition costs” have risen 500 percent since 1985 and a mini campaign swing by President Obama touting more free money for students and a federally sanctioned knockoff of college guides already provided by the Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, Washington Monthly, Barron’s, and countless other sources.

Enough already. The plain facts are that college is still well within reach of most Americans, the wage premium for a college sheepskin remains huge, and student loans are not a new form of indentured servitude. You wouldn’t get any of that from grandstanding politicians always looking for a new way to rob Peter to buy Paul’s vote, an educational establishment that’s always on the hunt for new revenue sources, and a news media that alternates between the credulity and ignorance of, well, a first-semester freshman.

Why Students (and Barack Obama) Should Shut Up Already About College Costs - Reason.com

Sadly, this is the cause of every real problem America faces (crushing debts, oppressive government, stifling regulations, etc.). The Dumbocrats have mastered manufacturing artificial "problems" (like the "cost" of healthcare, education, etc.) so that they can rob Peter to buy Paul's vote. And they figured out how to keep their voter block ignorant enough to buy their manufactured "problems".

Here it comes. The reason for the thread. RW is worried a little of his pocket change might go for education. The old free stuff routine. Why don't you reactionaries be honest and just say you want your tax dollars going for war and tax breaks for corporations and screw any social programs?

 

[KissMy]

Government throwing more money at the problem just increases the trillion dollar problem it has already created. Here is the only part of Obama's college plan that will reduce cost & educate more citizens to make us a richer country.

Obama Looks to Shrink College Tuition Bills:

Develop a new ratings system to help students compare the value offered by colleges and encourage colleges to improve:

Promote Innovation and Competition:

A rising tide of innovation has the potential to shake up the higher education landscape. Promising approaches include three-year accelerated degrees, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and “flipped” or “hybrid” classrooms where students watch lectures at home and online and faculty challenge them to solve problems and deepen their knowledge in class. Some of these approaches are still being developed, and too few students are seeing their benefits. The federal government can act as a catalyst for innovation, spurring innovation in a way that drives down costs while preserving quality.

To promote innovation and competition in the higher education marketplace, the President’s plan will publish better information on how colleges are performing, help demonstrate that new approaches can improve learning and reduce costs, and offer colleges regulatory flexibility to innovate. And the President is challenging colleges and other higher education leaders to adopt one or more of these promising practices that we know offer breakthroughs on cost, quality, or both – or create something better themselves:

- Award Credits Based on Learning, not Seat Time.

- Use Technology to Redesign Courses.

- Use Technology for Student Services.

- Recognize Prior Learning and Promote Dual Enrollment.

- Empower Students with college ratings to help students compare the value offered by different colleges.

- Seed Innovation and Measure What Works.

- Reduce Regulatory Barriers.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

It’s back-to-college time, which means it’s the season for bitching and moaning about rising college costs, lack of access to higher education, and the pressing need for even more taxpayer-funded subsidies to the leaders of tomorrow. In just the past few weeks, we’ve been subjected to breathless reports that “college tuition costs” have risen 500 percent since 1985 and a mini campaign swing by President Obama touting more free money for students and a federally sanctioned knockoff of college guides already provided by the Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, Washington Monthly, Barron’s, and countless other sources.

Enough already. The plain facts are that college is still well within reach of most Americans, the wage premium for a college sheepskin remains huge, and student loans are not a new form of indentured servitude. You wouldn’t get any of that from grandstanding politicians always looking for a new way to rob Peter to buy Paul’s vote, an educational establishment that’s always on the hunt for new revenue sources, and a news media that alternates between the credulity and ignorance of, well, a first-semester freshman.

Why Students (and Barack Obama) Should Shut Up Already About College Costs - Reason.com

Sadly, this is the cause of every real problem America faces (crushing debts, oppressive government, stifling regulations, etc.). The Dumbocrats have mastered manufacturing artificial "problems" (like the "cost" of healthcare, education, etc.) so that they can rob Peter to buy Paul's vote. And they figured out how to keep their voter block ignorant enough to buy their manufactured "problems".

Here it comes. The reason for the thread. RW is worried a little of his pocket change might go for education. The old free stuff routine. Why don't you reactionaries be honest and just say you want your tax dollars going for war and tax breaks for corporations and screw any social programs?

Well, you don't want those elitists to get educated, do you?

I put myself through college. Those days are gone. If we want to compete on the world stage, we need to invest in ourselves.

Rs will never stand for that though. They're way too busy sending jobs and money to other countries.

DUH.

 

[P@triot]

It’s back-to-college time, which means it’s the season for bitching and moaning about rising college costs, lack of access to higher education, and the pressing need for even more taxpayer-funded subsidies to the leaders of tomorrow. In just the past few weeks, we’ve been subjected to breathless reports that “college tuition costs” have risen 500 percent since 1985 and a mini campaign swing by President Obama touting more free money for students and a federally sanctioned knockoff of college guides already provided by the Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, Washington Monthly, Barron’s, and countless other sources.

Enough already. The plain facts are that college is still well within reach of most Americans, the wage premium for a college sheepskin remains huge, and student loans are not a new form of indentured servitude. You wouldn’t get any of that from grandstanding politicians always looking for a new way to rob Peter to buy Paul’s vote, an educational establishment that’s always on the hunt for new revenue sources, and a news media that alternates between the credulity and ignorance of, well, a first-semester freshman.

Why Students (and Barack Obama) Should Shut Up Already About College Costs - Reason.com

Sadly, this is the cause of every real problem America faces (crushing debts, oppressive government, stifling regulations, etc.). The Dumbocrats have mastered manufacturing artificial "problems" (like the "cost" of healthcare, education, etc.) so that they can rob Peter to buy Paul's vote. And they figured out how to keep their voter block ignorant enough to buy their manufactured "problems".

Here it comes. The reason for the thread. RW is worried a little of his pocket change might go for education. The old free stuff routine. Why don't you reactionaries be honest and just say you want your tax dollars going for war and tax breaks for corporations and screw any social programs?

First of all - it's incredibly disingenuous to say OUR tax dollars go to corporations. If a corporation receives a tax break, they do not receive any money. They just get to keep more of what was already theirs to begin with.

But as for the rest - yes, the government has zero authority taking any of my money and spending it on social programs. And if you actually cared about the needy on any level, you would agree with me (because very little actual money that government gets it's corrupt hands on actually makes it to the people in need). By the way, here's a little quote you might want to familiarize yourself with before going on another disingenuous "RW's hate poor people" rants....

“Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain.” ― Frédéric Bastiat

 

[P@triot]

Sadly, this is the cause of every real problem America faces (crushing debts, oppressive government, stifling regulations, etc.). The Dumbocrats have mastered manufacturing artificial "problems" (like the "cost" of healthcare, education, etc.) so that they can rob Peter to buy Paul's vote. And they figured out how to keep their voter block ignorant enough to buy their manufactured "problems".

Here it comes. The reason for the thread. RW is worried a little of his pocket change might go for education. The old free stuff routine. Why don't you reactionaries be honest and just say you want your tax dollars going for war and tax breaks for corporations and screw any social programs?

Well, you don't want those elitists to get educated, do you?

I put myself through college. Those days are gone. If we want to compete on the world stage, we need to invest in ourselves.

Rs will never stand for that though. They're way too busy sending jobs and money to other countries.

DUH.

Based on what [MENTION=32558]Luddly Neddite[/MENTION]?!? The fact that you and your pals have become lazy and complacent and aren't willing to engage in anything that isn't handed to you on a silver platter?!?

It amazes me how the left makes outlandish declarations on USMB without so much as an explanation, much less a fact or link.

Considering technology has expanded the classroom from on campus to online anywhere in the world - and at an exponentially cheaper cost - I'd say that it's never been easier to put yourself through college...

(But hey - went did Dem's ever let reality get in the way of their rhetoric? )

 

[ScienceRocks]

The far right is anti-education and sounds little like the Taliban too me.

This nation has become a first world power on the back of higher education. This is why we must fix this cost problem.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Sadly, this is the cause of every real problem America faces (crushing debts, oppressive government, stifling regulations, etc.). The Dumbocrats have mastered manufacturing artificial "problems" (like the "cost" of healthcare, education, etc.) so that they can rob Peter to buy Paul's vote. And they figured out how to keep their voter block ignorant enough to buy their manufactured "problems".

Here it comes. The reason for the thread. RW is worried a little of his pocket change might go for education. The old free stuff routine. Why don't you reactionaries be honest and just say you want your tax dollars going for war and tax breaks for corporations and screw any social programs?

Well, you don't want those elitists to get educated, do you?

I put myself through college. Those days are gone. If we want to compete on the world stage, we need to invest in ourselves.

Rs will never stand for that though. They're way too busy sending jobs and money to other countries.

DUH.

On this issue we agree. This nation can't compete with the first world with the attitude of education is bad. We're now 17th for crying out loud....Shouldn't we fix this?

 

[ScienceRocks]

IF we wish to remain a first world power and have a strong middle class. We must 1# Fix our college system and 2# figure out a way to move the poor into the middle class.

 

[P@triot]

IF we wish to remain a first world power and have a strong middle class. We must 1# Fix our college system and 2# figure out a way to move the poor into the middle class.

This is astoundingly absurd... If you "moved the poor into the middle class", there would no longer be a middle class. Instead the middle class would all instantly become the lower class. Allow me to enlighten you about basic economics:

If I handed every single person from the lower class $1 million - those people would not instantly become middle class. Instead, $1 million would instantly become worthless. The value of anything is derived from it's rarity. You know why you can't purchase a Lamborghini using fingernails? Because everyone has fingernails - rendering them worthless (I don't need or want what I already have). So if everyone has $1 million, $1 million becomes worthless.

 

[P@triot]

The far right is anti-education and sounds little like the Taliban too me.

This nation has become a first world power on the back of higher education. This is why we must fix this cost problem.

Why would you "fix" something that isn't broke? This is literally like saying "my Ferrari isn't running like my neighbors Saturn, so I better 'fix' it"...