The Student Debt Crisis

This topic is a hot button issue for me.  Yes I experienced student loans for a good chunk of my life, but that’s not what pisses me off.  It’s the ignorance and shortsighted people who claim the government can solve the crisis by magically forgiving loans.   Their moronic solution can be refuted by two simple concepts, economics and education.

Firstly, look at a student loan for what it is.  It’s simply a service provided to someone seeking it.  No one is forced to have a student loan, it’s a product.  Imagine buying a car, probably financed, driving it for years until it is no longer able to function, then demanding to not pay for it.  That’s a loose analogy but not awful.  The new crop of college grads aren’t happy that they have to pay for an education that was already delivered.  What’s worse is they want big daddy government to swoop in and make it better.  Life doesn’t work that way.   

Bringing back the car analogy, a college grad financed a Yaris for the cost of a tricked out Cadillac and doesn’t feel like paying for it…..and they get to keep driving it.  The value of a college degree ain’t what it used to be. That’s not to say the education is less valuable but rather that students are paying more for it.  The value hasn’t increased one iota yet it costs a ton more.  Students, and possibly their parents, need to shop around for something that is more affordable.  Is the tuition covering the education, the social engineering, the name on the diploma, fruitless programming and athletics?  Yes to all of that.  Tuition isn’t just for education, it subsidizes many things the customers don’t use and likely don’t want.  

So before we look to absolve ourselves of self-inflicted debt via government interference, let’s do some smart shopping.

Check out this topic's accompanying episode of The Free Thinking Teacher Podcast.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hello World

Image
Welcome to Free Thinking Teacher!  With the myriad of chatter out there in the cybersphere, this is yet another source.  I'll focus primarily on the world of education and #eduspeak, with some dabbling in politics and current events. My purpose is to elicit discussion through podcasts, blog posts, and tweets.  Many of my thoughts will not conform to the norms of many education professionals.  By sharing them, I hope to get people thinking for themselves, not to sway an opinion to be in agreement with my own.  There is a genuine fear that teachers as a whole are so ingrained with one doctrine that the part of the reason that the practice of education is failing. As the tagline states, I will provide "a candid look at the educational world from the mind of a veteran teacher who doesn't toe the line." Expect some controversial ideas mixed in with some humor and debate. These opinions are my own, but you're welcome to borrow them.  Check out...
Read more

The Almighty Jeans

Image
In the world of tweets and rants it seems there are teachers out there who make it there mission to fight for so called “Jeans Days.” These are the days in which they are allowed to wear jeans to work. My first inkling is that if this is a battle worth fighting in your school, then you teach in a pretty sweet environment. But I must delve deeper into this need for jeans. You don’t have to look very far to see that Americans have become much more casual. I think the tipping point was with whichever lazy rocket scientist created the category loungewear (formerly pajamas). However, I’m not sure why we have to casual all the time. Many workplaces have also lessened their dress standards to allow for jeans, which admittedly can be made to look decent.  My point in all of this prefacing my argument is this. When jeans become the norm or commonplace at work, there is always that group of people who have to test the slovenly waters. I’m sure all of you have that teacher or as...
Read more