>That's why I didn't tell you to read the blog. I told you to look at the sources
If you're fast and loose with stats and terms you can prove anything. As I read the post, I was struck by the way the writer weaved in disparate studies, terms, and references. I'm very sure there is quite a bit nuance in her claims and because this was written by someone with such a huge conflict of interest (her position literally exists to further private college interest and would she would never, ever argue something that would be counter to those interests), I have to ignore it. There's only 24 hours in a day, and because I don't have the energy to fact check her, I have to dismiss it.
>Most importantly, a simple increase in demand: Students need to do something to give them an edge in the job market. The safest way to do that is still, by far, to go to college.
That's your guess??!?!?! Of course kids want to go to college, just like all kids want a luxury car and fly first class everywhere, so no, demand isn't a great answer. If tuition is high, and you don't have money and you can't get a loan, you don't go to college. Responsible lenders certainly wouldn't lend to everybody, regardless of credi score or repayment ability, but they do. Does that not sound like it could be a problem?
What I don't understand from your perspective is how you can not even imagine that $1.2 trillion in outstanding federally back loans (with around half of it NOT being repaid) would not contribute to the increased tuition costs?!? That's over a trillion dollars that may otherwise have been available if the private lenders had to take on all the typical lending liabilities. That's over a trillion dollars to divvy up between all the colleges and universities (and lenders)! It's insane that tuition outpaced all other costs, including medical costs which are crazy. It looks clear as hell that there is a huge market distortion happening.
> I have no evidence for what I'm trying to argue, and I don't have the time to read any conflicting evidence, so I'm going to just keep spouting BS because it's easier to remain convinced.
Okay, forget I linked to the blog post. Here are sources.
U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics, Dec. 2001, Study of College Costs and Prices 1988-89 to 1997-98, Vol. 1
National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education, February 1998, Straight Talk about College Costs & Prices
Government Accountability Office, May 2011, Federal Student Loans: Patterns in Tuition, Enrollment, and Federal Stafford Loan Borrowing Up to the 2007-08 Loan Limit Increase
Sandy Baum, Policy Analyst for the College Board, New York Times, Feb. 3, 2010
Bridget Terry Long, Education Economist, Harvard University, Testimony, Senate Finance Committee hearing “College Tuition Pricing and Federal Financial Aid: Is There a Connection?” Dec. 5, 2006
What I don't understand is how you think it matters what I "can imagine." It doesn't. You're hounding me for an answer that I never said I have. You are way too eager to find conclusions which may not even exist. You don't have evidence to back those conclusions. You don't want to find evidence to back them up. You don't read evidence that conflicts with your conclusions. And then you act like I'm stupid for not arriving at a conclusion (because, spoiler alert: there isn't one, yet).
I never said it "doesn't sound like a problem." I said that there's no evidence that availability of funding increases tuition. Until you provide something beyond gut feeling, to combat the statistics that contradict you, it's not worth talking about.
If you're fast and loose with stats and terms you can prove anything. As I read the post, I was struck by the way the writer weaved in disparate studies, terms, and references. I'm very sure there is quite a bit nuance in her claims and because this was written by someone with such a huge conflict of interest (her position literally exists to further private college interest and would she would never, ever argue something that would be counter to those interests), I have to ignore it. There's only 24 hours in a day, and because I don't have the energy to fact check her, I have to dismiss it.
>Most importantly, a simple increase in demand: Students need to do something to give them an edge in the job market. The safest way to do that is still, by far, to go to college.
That's your guess??!?!?! Of course kids want to go to college, just like all kids want a luxury car and fly first class everywhere, so no, demand isn't a great answer. If tuition is high, and you don't have money and you can't get a loan, you don't go to college. Responsible lenders certainly wouldn't lend to everybody, regardless of credi score or repayment ability, but they do. Does that not sound like it could be a problem?
What I don't understand from your perspective is how you can not even imagine that $1.2 trillion in outstanding federally back loans (with around half of it NOT being repaid) would not contribute to the increased tuition costs?!? That's over a trillion dollars that may otherwise have been available if the private lenders had to take on all the typical lending liabilities. That's over a trillion dollars to divvy up between all the colleges and universities (and lenders)! It's insane that tuition outpaced all other costs, including medical costs which are crazy. It looks clear as hell that there is a huge market distortion happening.