The economics of student loans
Jacob Sullum elucidates the dysfunctional market in higher education, hinting at but not quite defining the solution. Which is: abolish subsidized student loans.
There, I said it. I expect the wees who were all upset about my take on the minimum wage will be really pissed off now.
Comments
Posted by: Jason
Posted on: January 18, 2007 11:38 AM
I don't know about "pissed off," but I loves me some Stafford loans.
I was reading Sullum's article this morning and I think the link between subsidized loans and increased tuition rates is a thoughtful criticism of the system - the rest of the article, not so much. I enjoy Sullum's work, but sometimes I wonder if Reason has as many stock button-pushing rhetorical bits aimed at maximalist liberal readers as, oh, WorldNetDaily or something ("Dumb car-buying analogy!" or "Here's a study from Cato!" or paragraphs that consist entirely of a sentence beginning, "Basic economic theory tells us..."), kept in some sort of boilerplate for commentary. While the stats attributed to Vedder concerning participation and non-completion are a pretty good response to the cultural message that college is important for the economic success of prospective students - and that's true for reasons other than the professional-certification aspect of the degree itself - I'm not sure that non-completion is the best measure of a "marginal student." I sense, in any case, that Sullum is trying to amplify the economic suggestions of a critique such as Vedder's in order to completely avoid having to deal with messy or tendentious social concerns, particularly those discussions that include questions of access. I'd hope there's some way to bring responsible fiscal approaches to bear on a serious discussion of social issues inevitably suggested by this topic. Otherwise it's just cross-talk, a judgment I think that provoked my snarky comment about Sullum's rhetoric.
For those of us who actually want to work in lower-paying jobs that require advanced degrees, the subsidization of loans is a blessing. Not that it really mitigates the sting of repayment, of course, but if professional requirements change - in my case, proposed overhauling of tenure systems - the absence of subsidization seems much easier to bear. So I'm not inclined to see it as a "basic economics" issue as much as, in terms of my own response, an issue integrated with the states of various professions.
Not that I got within a hundred yards of a Pell Grant, of course...
Posted by: bob
Posted on: January 18, 2007 12:29 PM
College education is like a blog, not everyone should have one.
Posted by: Jeffrey Quick
Posted on: January 18, 2007 12:50 PM
Nonsense, Bob...just as a blog reveals to the whole world what a jerk one is, a Ph.D reveals the monumentally and incurably stupid. Anyone can be an idiot, but when one can be an idiot after 3 degrees, that's real stupidity.
Posted by: Jeffrey Quick
Posted on: January 18, 2007 01:02 PM
I read WorldNet "Daily", so the comparison is highly amusing. I think it comes from preaching to the choir. With certain things, you don't have to dot Is and cross Ts, when you know your audience. I'm sometimes giulty of that sloppiness here. WND has decided that their audience is evangelical Christians, so they assume that slant in their stories, leaving some of the rest of us out. And the fixed slant leads to boilerplate. I'm sure one could design a 'bot to produce FreeRepublic or DemocraticUnderground posts (or the same bot with different vocabulary/topic lists).
Posted by: Jason
Posted on: January 18, 2007 02:36 PM
On both sides. As long as the contemporary values of liberalism continue to center around self-abuse, WND will always have an audience. Myself, I'm hoping they give Jim Rutz an hourly column, maybe sticking him in a room with a blog and a ton of meth -
Posted by: Jeffrey Quick
Posted on: January 18, 2007 02:41 PM
LOL! I've enjoyed his soy series, though "soy makes you gay" is probably overstating the case. I always define soy as "what food eats", though I don't make that a determinant of my personal diet. "Oh, you're a vegetarian? I'm a humanitarian, myself."