How college loans exploit students for profit | Sajay Samuel

"Once upon a time in America," says professor Sajay Samuel, "going to college did not mean graduating with debt." Today, higher education has become a consumer product — costs have skyrocketed, saddling students with a combined debt of over $1 trillion, while universities and loan companies make massive profits. Samuel proposes a radical solution: link tuition costs to a degree's expected earnings, so that students can make informed decisions about their future, restore their love of learning and contribute to the world in a meaningful way.

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Noam Chomsky: "Students who acquire large debts putting themselves through school are unlikely to think about changing society. When you trap people in a system of debt they can't afford the time to think. Tuition fee increases are a disciplinary technique, and, by the time students graduate, they are not only loaded with debt, but have also internalized the “disciplinarian culture.” This makes them efficient components of the consumer economy."

[AnnLeStudio]

The biggest problem is the financial aid system. With more financial aid, schools can charge more, and then, students need more financial aid which makes the schools want to charge yet more again.

[davidjohnjr]

If only people cared about this as much as they do for sports

[foday]

I learned a lot more on youtube than I did in college, Youtube is free college is not.

[mchase]

Just like the mortgage crisis. The government decided to subsidize college costs. Once they started making it easy to take on massive amounts of debt as a student guess what happened? Tuition rates started jumping 15% a year for the past 2 decades.

[CombatSportsNerd]

The more i learn about college the less i feel like i can handle it

[marklawrence]

I attended a public university in the mid 1980s. My first two years of school, the tuition + books were covered 100% by my PELL grant. In fact, I always got a refund check for the over payment of the difference - free money! In 1984, Ronald Reagan's education budget cuts eliminated my PELL grants, but I was able to get a College Work-Study grant with which I worked three hours every afternoon Monday - Friday in the university library. That College Work Study job completely paid my tuition and books for my remaining two years in school. I graduated in 1986 with my BA with zero debt. Damn, how times have changed for the worse.

[Sarpro]

It turns out that the entire point of a loan is to make profit. Otherwise what is the point of loaning someone money if there is no incentive?

[wakeupscreaming]

There was a Cuban dude on youtube, who commented and scoffed at a point I was making: Cuban students can get a masters or doctorate degree -- all paid for by their government (because they actually invest in their people). The state has a very high-level of medical education. He finally admitted the western/American system wasn't perfect. And it isn't. He emigrated from Cuba, and is now in the U.S. He simply jumped from what he thought was the frying pan, and hopped into the fire.

Western countries no longer have to invest in their people -- because they simply cherry-pick and immigrate any kind of workers they want -- STEM workers, low-wage low-education, nurses, etc., like they are picking and choosing them off a restaurant menu. That's the new economy. It's ugly. It treats workers like disposable garbage. It destroys communities. It's focused on profit over ethics. It sees only borderless markets and quashes nations.
Until our economy changes, nothing else will be changing either.

[QuickTalks]

Sadly, it sounds like the best solution is to get educated overseas instead

[pierreeshak]

Americas education program is terrible I hope someone fixes it

[Dookie]

"because they bought a defective product" This is exactly how I retrospectively measure my college education, and I suspect most that have fallen to dilemma feel the same. It's not what I signed up for. Product and consumer were not discussed with my parents, or my high school counselor a decade ago. I signed up to build a life, but ended up buying one.

[RogerWazup]

I like the idea of tuition being based on expected earnings with a given degree, but I also think that self-teaching should be an option. People should be able to learn the material for a class, take the final exam for a cheap price, and get college credit if they pass.

Education and healthcare are two very important things, and in the US so many people are in debt over these things or don't get them at all.

[TheDark-Knut]

Absolutely true. Going to college feels like some kinda military training where ur "trained" and not educated, to combat the corporate life.

Nobody talks about new stuffs or new ideas.

[Kadulikan]

I knew this when I was 14. Honestly, this is why technical school and public school are the only real options.

[Randomstuffs]

Make sure you choose a social justice course, that way you not only don't ever pay your loans back. But you also become actively unattractive to employers

[sarrahconley]

This is so depressing because my parents made this mistake and then kept telling me to take out student loans. I had to lie and say I couldn't take out more after $42, 000 because it was making me sick. I was young and didn't realize how serious this was. of course I was loaning them money... dont know how I could have been so stupid. I bought thrift store clothes and wouldn't buy a car. I had 2 jobs and walked alot....

[vmikeyboi]

I like this guy. He's on our side.

[itspricila]

university is so expensive thats why im going to community college first

[deannalovern]

and here's why ive been worrying about tuition since the 7th grade