College kids to Chris Matthews: Hey, how about the government helping pay my college loans? UPDATE

Want to know what will get the kids out to the polls? Promise them the government will pay off their college loans. Free, free money. The Nanny State continued.

Glenn Reynolds has been posting on this for years now. Borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a BA or MA is not always such a great idea … especially if you can’t pay it back, especially in a recession. Even more especially if there’s no acceptable return on that investment.

Faced with that reality you might think college kids would rethink their investment. But this clip shows College kids aren’t facing the reality of their choices, instead, they’re looking for a bailout of some kind. I’m sympathetic. But perhaps these kids should click on Instapundit now and then.

BTW, I like the way they booed the conservative student and cheered the woman who says, “We need to help the college students here to pay for school”. Classic. The only one who seems to get it is the law student. “We need to bring down the cost of tuition so we don’t spend our lives paying down our debt.” Well, as Snoopy ™ might say, not if he becomes a successful trademark lawyer like my sister. Heh? (Was that a trademark violation, sis?)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNC2ixxUWUo

Here’s one of Glenn’s links that perhaps these kids should take the time to read.

The American Enterprise Institute recently published a new study entitled “Is College Worth the Investment?

The answer is that for many students, the answer is no. Looking at salary data for a wide array of schools, author Mark Schneider finds that graduates of many schools have earnings that don’t justify the cost of borrowing, even at federally subsidized rates.

In my mind, none of this means that a high school student should forgo college for a trade school and quick earnings. What it does say is that students need to begin cost benefit analysis when choosing a school and a major, and before borrowing.

Ultimately, something needs to be done to bring down the cost of college and the quickest way to do that is to eliminate government backed student loans. I’m not the first to say this but I will add that if universities knew that their customers didn’t have ready access to cheap, “guaranteed” cash, they might not be so anxious or willing to raise tuition so quickly. Economic theory dictates that demand, especially in a recession, and at these prices, should be falling, and with it tuition. Instead tuition, with few exceptions, continues to climb meaning that either college is worth the expense so far at any price, or … government interference has interrupted or corrupted market forces in higher education pricing.  My guess is, it’s the latter.

But then again … who cares. It’ all coming from Obama’s stash anyway.

PS: Ya know, I never thought I would ever use the names Glenn Reynolds and Chris Matthews in the same post. These are bizarre times indeed.

UPDATE:

As my old law firm, Shutts & Bowen, represented United Features Syndicate, it would seem that I have a conflict of interest representing you bro.  But, not to worry.  Perhaps Congressman Alan Grayson (D.Fl.) will have some time on his hands beginning next January.

SoundOffSister

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Jim Vicevich

Jim is a veteran broadcaster and conservative/libertarian blogger with more than 25 years experience in TV and radio. Jim's was the long-term host of The Jim Vicevich Show on WTIC 1080 in Hartford from 2004 through 2019. Prior to radio, Jim worked as a business and financial reporter for NBC30 - the NBC owned TV station in Hartford - and as business editor at WFSB-TV in Hartford for 14 years while earning six Emmy nominations and three Telly Awards.

4 Comments

  1. JollyRoger on October 23, 2010 at 8:53 am

    Wow! That link got disabled quick!  That one disappeared as fast as the one where Ron Howard is embarrassingly transformed into a 6' tall Opie who seeks advice about the nice Barack Obama from Andy!



  2. TomL on October 23, 2010 at 9:19 am


  3. Dimsdale on October 23, 2010 at 1:47 pm

    How long before they are rioting in the streets because they don't get free tuition?  Jim has it right: when students and parents have to pay out of pocket rather than running up tons of debt, then pressure for lower tuitions will develop.

     

    Maybe the children (I chose this word purposely) who want tuition aid should consider getting scholarships instead of loans.



  4. Dimsdale on October 23, 2010 at 1:48 pm

    Notice how Matthews' question to the Sestak supporter is "why is he wrong?"  Note the difference in dress too.



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