The Pros And Cons Of Student Loans

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Are student loans going to make for one of the biggest economic issues this year? Though the topic has been somewhat in the background lately as media attention to the Occupy movement has waned, there is reason to believe that student loans may be one of the hottest economic and political issues in 2012. A recent CNN article written by Brad Chase, a partner with Capitol Media Partners, discussed how youth may be giving up on Pres. Obama. Why is the youth vote up for grabs in 2012? Chase: "[B]ecause youth can't afford cars to put [Obama 'Hope'] bumper stickers on and those [Obama 'Hope'] t-shirts are worn out from too many days sitting on the couch unemployed." Chase discussed that the dire reality is that "just 55.3 percent of Americans…show more content…
Dare I say it, a substantial portion of higher education could find itself somewhat societally delegitimized owing to the fact that not only are many college graduates not able to find jobs, but also because higher education has acquiesced to the present scheme. To put things into perspective, even some law professors expect a considerable number of law schools to close in the near future. Aye, despite bureaucratic games, excessive costs, and culturally reinforced educational standards, the market has the last…show more content…
If the younger generation begins to perceive the higher education system (and accompanying loans) as being inherently unjust and/or illegitimate, what implications does this have for the labor sphere? I've previously used the example of a college graduate working at Starbucks only to find himself or herself effectively relegated back to Starbucks after receiving a graduate degree. If people begin to perceive higher education as being illegitimate or akin to a sort of nationwide fraudulent scheme, at some point the cost of academic tuition and the number of students attending higher educational institutions will contract and collapse. Of course, a pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model. In this light, one might also note that our current system of higher education is unsustainable. Given the gravity of the situation, the federal government may very well begin to take aim at those educational institutions that pursued customer-students just to make a quick buck while being apathetic to and uninterested in the customer-students' education, training, and

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