Student Loan Crisis: A Problem of Cultural Bias

The Howling Fly ^

[chordmaster]

Student loan debt in the United States recently exceeded $1.5 trillion, growing exponentially as enrollment continues to rise and defaults by former students continues to increase. Republicans arguing against loan forgiveness and federally funded tuition are quick to blame educational institutions for not properly providing degrees that command career earning power commensurate with their costs. Typically, the true nature of the problem is being ignored - the inability to satisfy educational debts is a direct result of cultural bias rampant in corporate America.

[ifinnegan]

Alright.

I guess I’ll never know what the cultural bias is.

[Petrosius]

The inequalities arise due to a free market economy that places a premium on degrees in fields such as engineering and business, while graduates in studies described by Republicans and Conservatives as 'liberal arts' find little opportunity. Prospects that are available for said students offer drastically reduced salary probabilities.… Superseding the mounting student debt problem, the true danger is that potential students may shy away from vital fields of study simply due to future earning potential.

These fields cannot be so vital if no one wants to hire those who study them. Perhaps the universities should be honest with their students and warn them that they are studying in a useless major. Ah, but then what to do with all those useless professors who teach those useless majors?

[PGR88]

This debt bubble is no different from the causes of the housing bubble in 2007 - government policies and money (and Federal Reserve low interest rates) pushing money stupidly to people who should not go to college and should not have the money.

When this bubble pops, the amount of fraud revealed will be shocking.

[Jim Noble]

The number of people in college who “shouldn’t be there” is at least 50% of them, probably closer to 75%.

[Mouton]

Were it not for the dumb loans guaranteed by the dumber government (AKA You and Me), the national debt burden would be much less.

I hate to do this as it shows my age but when I was considering college in 63, I was choosing between a local college and one out of state. My parents pointed out to me they could afford a local, commuter school, but if I chose one away, they would pay tuition and the rest was on me. Easy choice, I went local, worked part time, and actually left school with money in bank. Full load yearly tuition and fees was about $1500.

Same school today, tuition and fees(without resident fee) is 40K per year and the average debt owed on grad is about 40K. An interesting comparison: my first job out of college paid 10K or 8 times a years tuition. Same school today, average starting pay is about 45K, or about 1 to 1. No wonder they are living in their parent’s basements and or not paying their debts.

[napscoordinator]

The loans changed too. It used to be that payments weren’t required until 6 months after graduation and the interest started that day too. Now the month following getting the loan the interest starts. Also interest should not be more then what the banks give for savings account and government shouldn’t get interest at all.

[PGR88]

Same school today, tuition and fees(without resident fee) is 40K per year and the average debt owed on grad is about 40K

I'm a bit younger, but the trend to outrageous college fees had already begun when I was in college in the late 80s, but wasn't at the point it was at now.

By my own calculation, for my oldest brother in the early 70s, his yearly tuition at a local private college was about 30-40% of US median income. Now most private colleges name-plate tuition (before they give you loans, or possibly financial aid) are at or above 100% of US media income. It simply can't last. Its merely being extended with debt.

[drpix]

I think this is a satire article and site.

1) The emblem on the top of the page is "Howling Flyl University" (with a nonsensical Latin slogan) which is the URL of the site . And yet the the site Home Page (howlingfly.com) is "under construction."

2) How else can we explain the article's "case in point?"

How does a student with a loan of $350Gs for a degree in "Sub-Saharan African Cultures" with no prospects of a well paying job prove their point that 'college debt will make students shy away from fields of study with poor earning potential?'

Doesn't it prove the opposite. Students reckless enough to waste their own money in debt for a worthless degree will be at lease as reckless if someone else is paying. And in the later case it would be us and not them on the hook for that money.

[Robert A Cook PE]

The inequalities arise due to a free market economy that places a premium on degrees in fields such as engineering and business, while graduates in studies described by Republicans and Conservatives as ‘liberal arts’ find little opportunity. Prospects that are available for said students offer drastically reduced salary probabilities.…

To these socialists in the colleges and universities, the problem IS the free market economy.

[bgill]

How about Congress doesn’t get a paycheck until they wipe out our national debt? At the top of the Things To Cut would be freebies to illegals, foreign aid and college loan forgiveness.

[Myrddin]

I graduated from high school in June 1973. Age 16. I applied to Revelle College, UCSD to start in Winter quart 1974. To avoid wasting the Summer/Fall, I took microbiology course in the Summer and English/Math/Chemistry in the Fall at Southwestern College. UCSD cost $212 per quarter registration. Parking was $46 annually. I took 18 to 22 units every quarter including Summer. Books ran about $100 per quarter. I purchased used, sold back stuff I didn't want. I drove my car 25 miles to UCSD at 7 AM each morning and was home by 9:30 PM. Gas was about 30 cents a gallon then. I graduated at age 19 in June 1976 with a degree in Molecular Biology. No debts. No loans. Car insurance costs were kept affordable by sending a certification that I was on the "dean's list" from the Provost's office each quarter.

Roll forward to the early 2000s. My oldest son signed up for 12 units at Idaho State University. Not a full load, but he had attention deficit disorder. It was $2000 per semester. After two semesters of not buckling down to work, I cut off the support. It was way too expensive for me to cover out of pocket with no firm commitment on his part to work. He passed from sudden cardiac death in 2012 caused by Z-Pak (azithromycin), so it's a moot point now.

My middle son joined the USMC in spite of graduating with a 4.33 GPA. He used his GI benefits to earn a BA in Business and subsequently a BA in Physics. He also ran up significant student loan debt. Net result: he makes a living as a real estate broker doing broker price opinions for upwards of 5 to 8 properties daily. It keeps food on the table.

My BA in Molecular Biology was pursued with the intent of applying to medical school. I chose a different path. After a year of graduate work in microbiology as San Diego State University, I made the decision to pursue EE/CS as a more suitable path. Barnes & Noble, Borders and other book suppliers provided the educational materials at my expense. I make a good living as a software engineer. As necessary, I can design electronics hardware to the component level and write specialized firmware for a variety of embedded systems. The strong math and science underpinnings of the degree at Revelle made the transition seamless.

[mad_as_he$$]

Similar path here, except I went engineering, in the same time period. My offspring went to Med school and is very successful.

Condolences on the loss of your son.

[Myrddin]

I was in "too early" to make a decent living in Molecular Biology. Even 10 years later, I met a PhD in my field working at Hybritech. He was earning $36k annually. As a senior systems analyst at PacBell, I was earning $44k that year. I didn't regret the change in direction.

My son was born with heart problems. Four open heart surgeries at ages 5, 10, 15 and 17 kept him alive along with two artificial heart valves (mitral and aortic), a band around the tricuspid and two lead pacemaker. He was on Coumedin to keep his blood thin enough for the valves. We learned that 5 hours after he passed, Vanderbilt University published a study citing 238 cases of sudden cardiac death caused by azithromycin. The cause is the extension of the QT interval (time between heartbeats). For patients with arrhythmias, the QT gets extended to the point that the next heart doesn't come. Information that came too late to be useful. We're thankful for the 32 years that he lived due to high quality medical services.

Congrats to you and your family for making good decisions.

[Midwesterner53]

I knew there was a reason students pile up debt, i just didn’t know it was cultural and racial bias.

[Dandy]

There is no crisis. Whoever borrowed the needs to pay it back. Simple.....

[eyeamok]

There’s a whole lot of stupid out there, but the Universities are guilty too, A friend’s daughter racked up $230K for a Art History Degree and Masters in Philosophy. She is now a High School teacher just barely surviving.

My Daughter spent 2 years at Community College, licensed in Radiology and has a Job at a good Hospital $3000. I supported her $1000 a month while she did it, but she does have a Paid For House I bought her with her Inheritance from my father, so $1000 was plenty

[mad_as_he$$]

Thank you.

One lesson my offspring learned was my number one rule: Life is deciding.

I am blessed that they did. Saved a bunch of heartache and pain.

Thanks for sharing your story.

[100American]

From the article...

Case in point - a recent Howyflyl graduate received a Magna Cum Laude Masters in Sub-Saharan African Cultures but has been unable to find employment sufficient to pay her $350,000 loan debt.

I stopped there as they were trying to point to others for the lack of positions in this area...

But they got paid, you can be sure of that

[Starstruck]

I bought a house that appealed to me at the time. The neighborhood kinda sucks and my house didn’t rise to my expectations. Can the government please come in and relieve me of this debt? Now about my car...................