“Universities increasingly resemble country clubs, where students borrow money to live like aristocrats, doing little work while partying, socializing, and enjoying themselves. The heavy opportunity cost of university only becomes apparent when one looks at the future, something newly graduated high school kids are not accustomed to doing. Instead, most of them will realize all too late that they squandered their precious time. Student loan debt accumulated in university country clubs cannot be discharged, even if the debtor files for bankruptcy, and students will spend the rest of their lives paying for the fun they had when they could have been learning. In the United States, it’s not uncommon for college graduates to carry more than $100,000 in student debt, bills they will still be paying in their thirties and forties. Instead of beginning their adult lives by earning and accumulating capital and deferring the country club experience until they achieve financial independence and can afford it, young adults are getting the country club experience first and spending the rest of their lives working to pay it off.
Definitely -- the resort schools, like CU Boulder, are preying heavily on the availability of debt that will take young people many years or decades to pay off. I suspect that most college town economies and their housing markets are also highly inflated because of the availability of so much fake money, and so little wisdom on what the students' 'fiat' spending will do to their real futures. I know Millennial-aged students who have 30 year student loans, because they were somehow allowed to rack up over $160,000 in debt for their four year degrees at CU Boulder. The ROI on that debt will never arrive for most of them. The Fiat Standard should be required reading for any young person about to go into college, especially if they are taking on loans to fund school on their own.
“Universities increasingly resemble country clubs, where students borrow money to live like aristocrats, doing little work while partying, socializing, and enjoying themselves. The heavy opportunity cost of university only becomes apparent when one looks at the future, something newly graduated high school kids are not accustomed to doing. Instead, most of them will realize all too late that they squandered their precious time. Student loan debt accumulated in university country clubs cannot be discharged, even if the debtor files for bankruptcy, and students will spend the rest of their lives paying for the fun they had when they could have been learning. In the United States, it’s not uncommon for college graduates to carry more than $100,000 in student debt, bills they will still be paying in their thirties and forties. Instead of beginning their adult lives by earning and accumulating capital and deferring the country club experience until they achieve financial independence and can afford it, young adults are getting the country club experience first and spending the rest of their lives working to pay it off.
”
From:
The Fiat Standard
By Saifedean Ammous
https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=0
Definitely -- the resort schools, like CU Boulder, are preying heavily on the availability of debt that will take young people many years or decades to pay off. I suspect that most college town economies and their housing markets are also highly inflated because of the availability of so much fake money, and so little wisdom on what the students' 'fiat' spending will do to their real futures. I know Millennial-aged students who have 30 year student loans, because they were somehow allowed to rack up over $160,000 in debt for their four year degrees at CU Boulder. The ROI on that debt will never arrive for most of them. The Fiat Standard should be required reading for any young person about to go into college, especially if they are taking on loans to fund school on their own.
45 minute read: https://xthomas-shelbyx.medium.com/history-of-government-intervention-in-higher-education-1860s-1950s-b9c7d79b0c5