The cost of college is putting higher education out of reach for the poorest Americans and among those who come from the poorest households and decide to go to college … they end up being saddled with the highest amount of debt. But most people don’t really understand the reason for rising tuition costs. Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between cutting state funding for public universities and the rising cost of tuition (source), (source), and (source).
“We have moved from a society in the 1950s and 1960s, in which race was more consequential than family income, to one today in which family income appears more determinative of educational success than race. Family income is now nearly as strong as parental education in predicting children’s achievement.”
~Sean F. Reardon, a Stanford University sociologist (source)
America wins when every child is able to get an education and use it to innovate and build the next generation economy; America becomes no different from a Banana Republic when we value the educations of the children who come from wealthy families more than we do the educations of children who come from the poorest households.
Pew summarizes their study HERE:
About one out of five (19%) of the nation’s households owed student debt in 2010, more than double the share two decades earlier1 and a significant rise from the 15% that owed such debt in 2007, just prior to the onset of the Great Recession, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly available government data.
The Pew Research analysis also finds that a record 40% of all households headed by someone younger than age 35 owe such debt, by far the highest share among any age group.
It also finds that, whether computed as a share of household income or assets, the relative burden of student loan debt is greatest for households in the bottom fifth of the income spectrum, even though members of such households are less likely than those in other groups to attend college in the first place.
A few things to consider:
#1 – Senior Citizens still owe $36 Billion in student loans (HERE)
#2 – Student loans topped $1 trillion last year (HERE)
#3 – A study finds that unintelligent students of privilege are more likely to complete college than poor, intelligent students (source)
And who we elect matters. Obama cut the banks out of giving government backed loans which was just a payoff to banks and a burden on college students and taxpayers. Obama increased funding for Pell Grants. Obama increased tax credits to increase the ability to deduct college tuition from your taxes.
President Obama’s plan seems to be rarely talked about but it would be a true game changer if enacted. Imagine if students were able to limit their payments to only 10% of their income and were forgiven any remaining debt after 20 years of payments or 10 years for those in public service. That would be a TREMENDOUS step forward and a good solution. That’s President Obama’s plan (source).
Mitt Romney’s “plan” would mean college students would pay more for their tuition. I’ve shared this HERE:
I want to give you three choice quotes from Mitt Romney for you to understand what Romney thinks about helping to ease the debt burden for students.
“I feel that if you are willing to serve your country in the military for instance, that’s a place where we’re going to say, ‘Yeah, we’ll give you help.” (source)
and
“Don’t expect the government to forget the debt that you take on. Recognize that you have to pay it back…. If you can’t afford it – shop around.” (source)
and
“And I want to make sure that we keep America a place of opportunity, where everyone has a fair shot. They get as much education as they can afford and with their time they’re able to get” (source)
Pew showcases the % of households with student debt by age …. the younger the household – the higher the % of debt clearly.
Student debt $ per student continues to go up…
No surprise here but the poorer you are – the more you owe in student loans (with the one blip in the middle fifth percentile); only 2% of the richest 10% of households still have student loan debt.
