In article , Alun
writes:

That's one possibility. Another is bankruptcy and the resulting
defaults on student and other loans.

The problem with that is that I don't think you can write off student loans
through bankruptcy.

I'm not sure if you can or cannot. Anybody know for sure?

So, you may not get graduates going intentionally
bankrupt, but the inability to pay it off may lead more people into
bankruptcy. They may then still owe the loan, but it won't get paid back.

Either way spells trouble.

Makes me think of the "They Might be Giants" Sone "Minimum Wage"

Here's one data point:

In the fall of 1972, when I entered the University of Pennsylvania,
tuition alone (no books, fees, etc.) was $3000/year. Which was very
expensive at the time. Today the same school charges more than 10
times that. But will the starting salary offered to a BSEE in 2006 be
more than 10 times what it was in 1976, when I graduated? Is
fininacial aid 10 times what it was in my time there? Nope.

Add to this the fact that a kid who worked at minimum wage during the
weekends,
summer and holidays could make a sizable dent in that $3000/year
tuition. If a
kid could take home $1.50 an hour, and manage to put in 1000 hours per
year, there's half the tuition. Today, if a kid can take home $5 an
hour and put in the same 1000 hours, the resulting $5000 is only about
1/6 of the tuition.

That's just not right.

No argument there. Back home in the UK they used to give everyone grants.
They were means tested, and of course if your parents were middle income
you would be the poorest student in college.

Still, the effective result was that almost any kid who was smart enough to get
in could go to college and get a degree. The rich ones paid their way and the
rest got various forms of help but did not have to start out their professional
lives way in debt.

However, now they are phasing
out grants and bringing in loans. This is also a big mistake.

Actually, I think loans make sense *IF* they are reasonable and the job
situation is such that they can be paid back in a short period of time.

The big question nobody wants to answer is "why does a year of college cost so
much?"

Here in Radnor Township, we spend a bit over $10,000 per year per student in
the public schools. And that's one of the highest outlays in the commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, if not the whole country. Why should a year of college tuition
cost more than that? The college school day and school year are shorter, the
classes bigger, and the college students pretty much provide their own supplies
and/or pay lab fees. College students also usually provide their own
transportation, don't need special ed services, etc.

So why does college cost so much?

Our governments need to invest more in putting people through higher
education. It doesn't really matter whether they do it by giving money to
the colleges or to the students, provided the former results in lower fees,
but they need to do it. An educated workforce is the most important thing
they could be putting their money into.

I agree 100%. It's an investment in the future.

Public education (meaning universally-available, publicly funded education) was
recognized as a necessary function of government from the very beginning of
this country. Nowadays that means either college or some form of
post-high-school specialized training.

Money well spent.

73 de Jim, N2EY