The Gradest Generation

Why is it my problem (and yours) that they were stupid?



I love that poster. That student borrows money--nobody forced a signature--and now when reality kicks in, the borrower wants someone else to pay.

As the video mentions, non-teaching missions and luxurious student accommodations that make a modern campus more like a walled resort designed to attract people with no business seeking a college degree (and grade inflation to let them think they learned something) than a place of learning have made education too expensive. And simply providing more loans is not the answer. And making those "loans" simply grants from our broke treasury after the fact is even worse.

Colleges should spin off their research arm from the teaching portion and let the former operate as a business, leaving the teaching part with far lower overhead. And make on-campus housing spartan and safe--and affordable--leaving the luxury junk for off-campus private business to cater to those who want to live in a resort in between spring break trips to actual resorts.

But back to the question of who is going to pay that loan back now for their straight-A GPA in a useless degree? I say the person who took out that loan. If that's the only lesson they get out of college, tough luck. Let's just hope that out of the wreckage of their debt, a better future of education is built. They can think of their sacrifices like those of the World War II generation who sacrificed years of their lives in war, but who suffered actual wounds to help build a better future (or death, meaning they didn't get to see the better future) rather than just a troubling credit rating.