I have often thought, “If education is expensive, try ignorance.”
I strongly believe that the key to future prosperity is a quality education. That said, there is increasing evidence that the costs connected to higher education have ratcheted higher at an unsustainable pace. I initially addressed this critically important topic a year ago in a commentary entitled, Are Student Loans an Impending Bubble? Is Higher Education a Scam?. I wrote then:
"I am a huge proponent of the need for quality education in our nation. That said, as this expose reveals there are MANY serious problems, conflicts of interest, and assorted other issues in higher education today. A racket, you might ask? Yes, in a manner of speaking, there are certainly elements of a racket within higher education today."
I welcome readdressing this topic today.
Just this past weekend I was discussing the prohibitive cost of higher education with one of my brothers. We commented on how these costs have dramatically outpaced inflation and income levels over the last few decades. Serendipitously, this morning I come across a very disturbing report which I will be sending my brother and many friends who work in the field of higher education. Thanks to the folks at Demos and specifically the author John Quinternos, a graduate of Notre Dame and the University of North Carolina, for a tremendous analysis on the current state of higher education in America.
Quinternos’ report provides a voluminous amount of details, analysis, and recommendations. Anybody who has even a passing interest in this topic will find it a must read. I welcome providing a link to The Great Cost Shift: How Higher Education Cuts Undermine the Future Middle Class.
