One of many criticisms I have had about Democrats for years is their extreme illiteracy when it comes to basic economics. This applies to everything from raising the minimum wage to unsustainable levels, to guaranteeing mortgages for unqualified people with bad credit records, to promising exorbitant pension benefits to public employees.
Many of these policies have wrecked public sector budgets (leading to rising taxes and in some cases, municipal bankruptcies) and put crushing burdens on small businesses, forcing some of them to lay off workers or just close their doors forever. In recent years, higher education has become another illustration of the folly of liberal spending policies.
For the first time in history, student loan debt (over $1.5 trillion) exceeds credit card debt and auto loan debt. Compound interest causes debt levels to continue rising even after graduates are out in the real world (hopefully making good money, but too often earning miserable wages because their degrees are useless). The Brookings Institute estimates that up to 40 percent of current college students will default on their student loan debt.
Now presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is proposing that all student loan debt be canceled (one-upping rival Elizabeth Warren, who proposed canceling $640 billion of the debt). Both propose making all undergraduate programs at public colleges and universities free.
One of the reasons universities have been jacking up tuition rates annually is the fact these institutions often stray from their key educational mission into social justice, diversity programs, environmental initiatives and the like. Diversity consultants, counselors to coddle wimpy students with Play Doh when their safe spaces have been invaded, and glitzy marketing programs all contribute to rising costs, as does the building boom. True, construction of new arenas, art museums and cultural centers often comes from money given by wealthy alumni. But it still takes university dollars to staff these facilities, maintain them and and pay for utility bills.
Higher enrollment -- i.e., demand outpacing supply of professors and classrooms -- than 20 or 30 years ago is another contributor to academic inflation. Many students really don't belong in college, but they've been brainwashed that a college degree is their ticket to success. Not enough are made aware of the good careers they could pursue by attending a vocational/technical school at a fraction of the cost of earning a bachelor's degree. Okay, maybe it's not glamorous to be an HVAC technician, construction manager, plumber, welder or dental hygienist. But these are good jobs -- much better than preparing lattes in the coffee shop for $9 or $10 an hour, like so many hapless college grads who are $40K in debt with nothing to show but a useless degree in sociology, psychology or gender studies.
Aside from the reasons I've mentioned, a huge reason for out-of-control escalating tuition costs is Uncle Sam's decision to become a major player in the student loan arena which, not coincidentally, has greatly increased the pool of available funds. In many cases, the U.S. Department of Education pays the interest on a loan until at least six months after a student graduates. It's easy to rack up debt and delude yourself into thinking you'll be able to handle it after you graduate and get a "real job," but often the interest proves devastating, and that elusive good-paying job is a lot harder to get than you had imagined if you pursued a non-STEM academic path.
Quite simply, more student loan money is the gasoline poured on the fire of rising tuition rates. Kind of like the "nature abhors a vacuum" principle. Academia abhors unused federal dollars, and goes after student loan money like a junkie going after heroin.
There are probably other reasons for escalating tuition that I have not even cited. And I am neither an economist, an accountant nor a financial advisor. I'm simply someone who takes the time to be informed, and a person with economic common sense. The "gimmie-ism" of today's Democrat Party is for simple-minded people who are, quite frankly, behaving like four-year-olds. As my father's generation so wisely proclaimed, "There is no free lunch."
The scores of naive people who fall for the snake oil salesmen of the Democrat Party such as Sanders and Warren and their impractical, unrealistic ideas reaffirm in my mind that ignorance of Economics 101 is off the charts. Ignorance -- of economics, history, and the U.S. Constitution -- is so rampant, that it's highly disheartening when "get out the vote" campaigns only care about numbers of voters, and not about individuals' ability to think critically and put forth the effort to read about the issues and do some research. Get those ignorant hordes out there to vote for anyone with a "D" beside his/her name!
The dumbing down of the voting process is something I ranted about a few months ago. Economic illiteracy is a big part of this fiasco, and it seems to be getting worse.
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