Report: College May Become Unaffordable For Most Americans

The rising cost of college -- even before the recession -- threatens to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, according to the annual report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Over all, the report found, published college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007, adjusted for inflation, while median family income rose 147 percent. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade, and students from lower-income families, on average, get smaller grants from the colleges they attend than students from more affluent families.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[HallStyle]

The NeoCONs who were in power did everything in their POWER to see that minorities were keep down and out. One of the major ways of doing it is by making a college education less obtainable.

The Rich and the Elite don't have to worry about the rising cost. The rising cost only effects the less fortunate.

If you give people opportunities MOST people will take advantage of them. Their idea is to deny people the opportunity to go to school by making it more and more unaffordable.

What should be one of the Top Priorities to make college affordable. A college education shouldn't be only for the Rich and the Wealthy. College should be a RIGHT!

http://www.hallstyle.blogspot.com

[Roman777]

This is news? It's been unaffordable.

[shag11]

Part of the rightwing game-plan: make upward mobility as difficult as possible, that way, the money stays in the top one percent.

[HIbbs4Prez]

While India slowly moves away from a caste system it appears America is developing one of its own.

[btanner]

I remember watching Maria Bartiromo's guest expert who proclaimed that parents need to put away a thousand dollars a month if they want their kids to go to Harvard. And Maria just left it at that. It didn't even occur to her to ask what kind of income would you need to have to be able to put away that kind of money per kid. It's like her audience were nothing but rich people who really do not need any financial planning at all. Just another out-of-touch TV show host.

[RichManPoorMan2009]

Want to get a free college education and free health care?

Just sell a couple of tons of MJ or coke, or do an armed bank robbery making sure you get caught but no one gets hurt,

[apoyo]

Higher taxes equals free universal health care and free universal college education.

Time to think about what's really important. Consumerism or maintaining a first world status.

[srobert]

This is an impact of increased demand for college degrees. Larger numbers are seeking these degrees because our economy no longer provides decent jobs for those who lack them. The solution should involve returning the economy to the state it was in before that was the case, say as it was about 40 years ago. What is different between now and then? Back then unions represented about 35% of the American workforce. We didn't undermine our own labor laws by manufacturing everything we use in countries where the workplace conditions are little better than slavery. Men like my father could put in 40 hours at a factory, and as a result the family had decent living standards, health insurance, savings and retirement benefits, etc. And this was with Mom staying at home! College is expensive now because it has become a necessity for many of us just to break even with living standards that we grew up with.

[Paul]

Good points.

Problem is, you can't go back. 40 years ago the world did not have the modern infrastructure we have now. The US existed in a bubble of prosperity after WWII because Europe, Japan and China were largely destroyed. As these countries rebuilt with modern factories, we lost out.

Free trade accelerated this so that new factories were built in China instead of the US to take advantage of low wages.

Short of rolling back globalization the most likely thing to put the US back on track is some sort of political trouble in China. They have something like 130 million displaced workers right now as the result of the financial slowdown. What happens when China can't meet the expectations of its population? Another revolution?

[notb observer]

While there are fewer children than in the Baby Boomer era (about 40 years ago), more kids are going to college. This is good, and also necessary to stay a world leading country. However, your claim that more demand has led to increased cost is just plain wrong. Universities and colleges are not "for profit". They spend their money on operating expenses, and many are feeling the pinch at the moment. If your claim was correct, the a drop in demand would lead to a drop in tuition costs, but it will not. In fact, the drop in demand might actually result in am increase in cost, because there will be fewer economies of scale. This will have to be offset by canceling certain programs that are not breaking even.
As far as going back 40 years, the onset of automation and robotics resulted in a gradual and consistent decrease in need for manual labor. The causes for the current state of Western economies are complex and interrelated. Free trade with countries like India and China was supposed to "open markets" for our products and services, by allowing these people to make higher wages and afford American imports. Unfortunately, India and China figured out that it was smarter to make the products themselves and sell them to us at unfairly low prices. India is now dong the white collar work that we though was our exclusive domain.

[whoknew---]

Canada is lookin' better and better....

hmm.....

but will need to brush up on my French!-----

[TimmySlagle]

"will need to brush up on my French!"

Only if you move to Quebec.

Most Canadians speak English, just like the rest of the world.

[squander123]

Ah, but who wouldn't want to live in Montreal? Fantastic city, I'd go back in a heartbeat!

[realpolitic]

Slagle, are you offended when and if you visited a foreign country and they were speaking a different language there? Would you demand everyone speak English?

[notb observer]

Not at all... Quebec makes up over a quarter of Canada's population, and the overwhelming majority speak French natively. The east border of Ontario that joins with Quebec is dotted with French speaking communities, and there are also large pockets of French speaking people in the eastern part of Canada known as the Maritime Provinces. They are the ancestors of the Louisiana Cajuns, or more properly the Acadians. You can also find French outposts in the midwest. On top of that, the country's Federal government, as well as some provinces are officially bilingual, so you have government employees from east to west that are native French speakers.
If you had actually been anywhere in "the rest of the world", you would know that English is not as prevalent as you hope. While a lot of upper class people around the world speak some English because of their job or education, the only other major country that uses English is the UK, and it's far from American English.

[squander123]

I think this connects to some wider social/economic issues. One of the fundamental beliefs of US society appears to be that it has a 'low tax, low spend' policy, and that in return for not having things like a free healthcare system and free universities as we do in most of Europe, Americans have more money in their pockets to spend as they see fit.

But I'm not sure that's true, based on information I've seen about the US tax system and heard from US friends. For example, at today's rate of exchange, I earn approx $90,000 a year, the vast majority of which is taxed at our higher rate. I've just done some sums, and I pay exactly 33.333% of that in tax, after all deductions etc. So that leaves me with $5000 a month after tax. Out of that I pay $82 a month for a state-run health-insurance scheme which covers me for everything, for life, no matter what health issues I have. If I had children, they would go to school and university for free. My pension deductions are included in my tax bill, so none of my net monthly salary has to pay into a pension either.

My guess is that I'm not more heavily taxed than a similar-earning US citizen. So why can't the US afford free health-care and university-education? My guess would be military spending, but I don't really know: any Americans out there who do know?

[RichManPoorMan2009]

I am also in europe and take home 3000 Euros after all deductions, health care premiums etc etc.

I wouldn't go back to the USA for a million bucks.

[TimmySlagle]

"why can't the US afford free health-care and university-education?"

Because we have to keep a Military presence in Europe, to keep them from slaughtering each other every twenty years.

[squander123]

Oh dear, that old chestnut...Sorry, doesn't cut it. How much is the War on Terror costing the US taxpayer? I assume that money would pay for healthcare and education for all US citizens. The odd thing is that the citizens don't seem to want it.

[RichManPoorMan2009]

Timmmy Slagle, the knownothing numbnut from the USA.

[realpolitic]

Slagle, if 9-11 was Bill Clinton's fault and the economic collapse is Obama's fault, then who is to blame for Hurricane Katrina? Is it perhaps Jimmy Carter's fault? Tell me please! I am a fan of conservative revisionist history.

[RichManPoorMan2009]

Slagle, we here in Europe are getting along quite fine and are much better of than the USA.

I know it pains you that you can't play rambo and be a heroe.

Oh, one more thing ..........if not for Russia you might be speaking German

[Rep/Dem both suck]

Maybe America should stop being the world's policeman and simply respond when asked, if there is a clear present threat. That would have gotten us in WWII, but not in any of the absolute useless wars since then.

[notb observer]

Generally I think you are correct in terms of where the taxpayer's money is going, but don't forget that the US military employs a large number of people, which is somewhat of a social program. The military also sends many young people to college, but this is a drop in the bucket in terms of overall military budgets. Part of the reason for the increase in university costs is the fact that there is less funding supplied by government, coupled with the fact that "real wages" have been on the decline for years.

The US performs poorly in terms of healthcare quality despite the fact that it spends the most in this area. Infant mortality, literacy rates, and other indicators of success are lower in the US than in many second/third world countries. This country will have to accept the fact, as most Western countries already have, that some services cannot be trusted to the free market. Healthcare one area where the existence of a profit motive is immoral.

The nation appears unaware of the role that higher education plays in the future of the country. It was not a high priority to the McCain-Palin campaign as evidenced by their rural lower middle class mass appeal. I don't mean this in a disparaging way, but the country has to realize that remaining the leader of the free world cannot be sustained by a population of hopelessly optimistic plumbers who do not pay their taxes...

[Rep/Dem both suck]

Inefficent medicare system, because it doesn't ensure everyone, but your right the biggest is military spending, we spend more than the rest of the world combined. It's only 25% of the budget, but cutting 20% would pay for what most European countires have. Plus in addition to the military budget their is the War on Drugs, which cost hundreds of billions of dollars a year. So yeah it's mostly wasteful spending on things the average American doesn't need or is even benefical.

[realpolitic]

We should cut down on our military spending. Hopefully, Obama will institute his universal health care plan. We should make at least our public universities more afforable than they are now. I think we will always have more poverty here than Europe. Our economic system is very harsh and there are still many racial divides here.

[TimmySlagle]

How come we never read about Big Education making obscene profits, or professors and administrators robbing the little guy?

How come there is no push to control the cost of Education?

We have a serious problem in this country, when colleges are allowed to charge whatever they want.

[notb observer]

Obscene profits ? I think you are way off the mark on this. "Big Education" does not make a profit like corporations do. I don't know where you got the impression that they are in it to "turn a profit".

Professors do not get paid obscene amounts of money ! They are paid decently but there is also competition in terms of salary and perks to attract the best and brightest, as there is in any industry. The better your programs, the better your reputation and the more students you attract, which means more money for more better professors, and so on.

The only thing I agree with is that many universities are heavy in terms of administration. But I don't think that this fully explains why the cost of higher education has risen at a rate so out of step with wage increases. One possible reason for the dramatic increase in costs is that universities are receiving less government funding, and that they are all trying to attract more students by expanding their programs.

If we want to be fair, we should ask why so much money is spent by universities and colleges on sports programs, including stadiums, which contribute little to the education process.

[TimmySlagle]

"One possible reason for the dramatic increase in costs is that universities are receiving less government funding"

I don't believe that's true. I'd like to see a citation if you have it.

Sports and stadiums are usually a net GAIN for Universities, that's why they're given such latitude.

Part of the reason for the high cost, is scholarships and grants. I read somewhere, it has gotten so ridiculous, that for every student who pays for school, there is one getting a completely free ride.

Ultimately, the big problem is, that Colleges are overwhelmingly Liberal. And Liberals don't have a CLUE on how to manage money. Great on theory, short on practice.

[Rep/Dem both suck]

college sports programs, including the stadiums earn more money than they take. That'
s why a lot of the top 100 universities are sports schools.

[Kodachi]

Are you seriously asking this? Most educational institutions in the US are nonprofit.

[TimmySlagle]

Just because an institution is nonprofit, doesn't mean that nobody is making money.

It just means there are no shareholders earning dividends.

[realpolitic]

I guess we don't read about colleges making obscene profits because they don't!

Regarding tuitions, you mean we should interfere with the free market? We should subsidize university costs and then what about health care costs? Are you suggesting the government should subsidize something? Then are we communists?

[notb observer]

This report essentially confirms what many people already know and have known for years. This is one more reason I believe Obama picked up a majority of votes in this election. I clearly remember hearing Obama pledge several times on the stump that young people who invest in their country by serving in the military, Peace Corps or other community service, would see their country similarly invest in them. For many families, particularly those who have a college education and are struggling to give the same benefit to their children, this is a huge deal !

Now, let's compare that with the complete lack of attention and urgency given to higher education by the McCain campaign. Clearly we are dealing with oranges and apples, or more appropriately, rotten apples. Higher education, or any secular education for that matter, appears to be almost irrelevant to the Reicht Wing. The privileged Neo-Cons are the folks who are naming campus buildings after themselves, while the extremist christians generally look at liberal education as some form of affliction. Look at McCain and Palin themselves for an indication of their commitment to higher education ! McCain finished at the bottom of his class and Palin finally managed to get a "token" degree after attending 5 universities. They don't put much stock in education, and chose a washed out plumber as their team mascot.

[jazzycafe]

Well said. There is a clear distinction between how the two campaigns viewed education and your comparison is spot on.

[kdublya]

I smell another bailout.

[Friday025]

Yeah, and I'd surely support it!

[Earl]

"Affording college" and "affording a diploma" are two different things. Just about anyone can afford a class at a community college. But to think that the majority of Americans can "afford college" as in, "afford to get a diploma from a four-year institution" right now is crazy. Sure, more than half of us can go into debt to get one of these diplomas. But can we actually "afford" this debt? Many of us can't. I know a lady in her 50s who still owes $20k for an art history degree she got 30 years ago. In and out of default for decades. Unable to buy a house because her credit rating was down the toilet. "Do you want fries with that?" does not pay the bills, but a 20-year-old does not know that, and should not have to pay for it the rest of her life! Colleges and lending institutions should be approving student loans in accordance with the value of the diploma. It is just as crazy to lend $50k for an art history degree as it is to make sub-prime housing loans. (Art history lovers, bash away.)

[ftprairiedog]

If you can get to Cuba you can get a free education and health care.

[notb observer]

Yes, but only a couple of eggs per month. Only the foreign tourists eat omelets for breakfast every day.