This is just a means of propping up an absolutely FANTASTIC business model that was in danger of going under. I predicted this, on this very forum, a year ago, or so...er, maybe it was on another debate forum, back in my myspace days...can't remember...anyway...
Why do we need college? To further educate people. Seems simple. Here's a question. Is there anything, ANYTHING, that colleges teach, in MOST fields, that can't be learned for free on the internet, these days? Well, yeah, sure. Medicine. A surgeon learns by doing it, not by watching videos of it being done. And that sort of "hands on training" is NOT do it yourself, lol. (scary thought, eh?) I'm positive there are plenty of other examples that just as easily fall outside the realm of the typical do it yourself attitude. But the VAST MAJORITY of college degrees...are WELL within those bounderies. Simply put, thanks to the internet, colleges are becoming a lot less useful. Well, no, not less useful...just less necessary, towards the goal of "higher education". If you were to randomly list of 100 college degree programs, I'll bet 75% of them are things that can be just as easily learned on one's own, for next to NOTHING. All one needs is a clear goal, and desire. Hell, I learned how to take apart, and rebuild my old quadrajet 700cfm carb...and it works beautifully now. And I gotta tell you, most of you likely won't understand, when I say that THAT is a major achievement, for someone with no training, of any real sort, in the field of automotives. Carburetors are fairly complicated pieces of mechanical engineering, and rochester q-jets are some of the more complex you can get your hands on. I learned how to do it, and did it, in three days.
So why do we need college for so many of these fields? Because, in many instances, companies and governments require them. A degree, NOT the knowledge. They REQUIRE the degree, the later is just a plus, lol. Why? Well, the government needs to provide the illusion of security, in the form of various regulations...and the company needs to offset liability, as a result of the need for that illusion of security.
Enter econ 101. People want the jobs. Which means they NEED the degree, even in a world that offers the KNOWLEDGE practically for free. That is demand. The other factor is supply. Which, here comes another question. How hard is it to start your own ACCREDITED institute of higher learning? That is, a school that the state recognizes? Is it something that your typical industrious entrepreneur can just go out and do? Or does starting a new college fall more in the lines of, it's done either by the government, or by very very very wealthy individuals, or groups? What I mean to suggest is, the supply is more or less fixed. Not a lot of college "pop ups" out there, at least not that are also state sanctioned. So, you have consistent demand, thanks to government oversight, and limited supply, also thanks to government oversight. That picture coming clearer yet?
But we have a problem, don't we? The money train is slowing, because more and more, the degrees earned won't ever pay for themselves. At least, not in the short term view of 20 years, or so. In short, a college degree, for many cases, is looking like a bad investment. In addition to this, people are finding that they simply can't afford it, even with (government controlled) lax lending practices for students. So, enter Uncle Sam, to the RESCUE! Now making it "safer" and easier to secure loans for things we couldn't otherwise afford, rather than simply letting the market take it's course, and watch tuition numbers fall, along with the profits that accompany them!
And the question I ask you is, why? Why not simply let things ride? It's BECAUSE it's so easy to get a college loan, that colleges charge so much. Think about it. If no one, or the majority, can't afford to go to college, how do colleges stay in business? They lower their prices until people CAN go to college again. And I think most anyone with a brain knows this is the case. Even Obama. So, again, why? And why, of all the types of loans one can get, are college loans the ONLY one that can't be defaulted on, even in the case of bankruptcy?
Well, I think I know. I've been thinking this for a while now. It's multifacted, but here it is. Hope it doesn't fall into the realm of conspiracy theory, lol. Our government, our economy, our entire society, operates on debt. Our governments operates on a deficit, without which, no government. They REQUIRE this deficit, in order to have spending freedom...a carte blanche, if you will. Our economy operates on debt as well. Insurance requires debt in the form of securities, in order to have "capital" backing them, in the even a claim is made. Banks require dept in order to place bets on which direction the economy will swing, from one millisecond to the next. Everything in our lives operates around the accruement and sale of dept. Just as there were people scrambling to get a seat at the table to gobble up investments on mortgages, so too are they scrambling for college loans. Because college loans are the gold standard...they CAN'T be defaulted on, EVER, no mater what. Sure, now we might have some loan forgiveness...after 20-25 years. STILL a lot safer than any other type of security out there.
Another thing about college loan debt? It ensures that college graduates scramble for jobs. That whole no default thing, again. College grads are far more likely to be productive, because they HAVE to be. A lot of folks, they might not go for the dishwasher job a Joes Crab Shack, because it might be severe underemployment for them. A college grad? If that's what's hiring, that's what they'll take, because the other option, in a manner of speaking, is imprisonment.