The great economist Thomas Sowell recently published a 3-part essay on the economics of going to college. As usual, he makes perfect sense.
Read part 1, part 2, and part 3.
In this three-part series, Dr. Sowell tackles two of the most significant issues in education. First, we must find alternative methods of paying for education that don’t include tax payer subsidies. The second issue is the cost of education and why it’s so high. Sowell asks, "How many people would go to college if they had to pay the real cost of all the resources taken from other parts of the economy? Probably a lot fewer people."
Dr. Sowell explains that the cost of education is so high because so much of it is government subsidized, and as long as that continues to happen, the schools will continue to raise the cost of education. Until something changes, there will be no incentive for schools to lower tuition. One good way to generate incentive is to change the way the students pay for college.
Instead of relying on FASFA and other similar programs, he suggests that students sign a promissory note that states the student will essentially trade a college education for a certain percentage of their future earnings. This way, fewer people will actually go to college because that type of agreement requires more thought than simply filling out a FASFA form and going to school.
As it stands, the government is throwing money at people (and schools) no matter what the cost is. People will rack up a debt to be paid after graduation. In his plan, people will think twice as it will hit them in a more significant way than it does now.
Dr. Sowell is one of the smartest economists around. He has tons of essays on the web. You should find them and learn some things from someone who knows what he’s talking about.
Scott Davis is a manager for a large media and communications company in Austin, TX. He has worked there since June of 2001. Scott has an Associates degree in Information Systems and a Bachelors degree in Management from Kaplan University. In 2009, Scott will have earned his MBA from Norwich University. He loves fan mail and feedback from his readers. His hobbies include distance education issues, educational research, organizational leadership, training, and photography. Scott's blog is titled "Divide by Zero". He enjoys fielding questions from people who are interested in distance education. So if you have anything on your mind, please feel free to drop him a line from the contact page listed below. All inquiries will be answered as soon as possible.
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About WheelCipher
Scott is a manager for a large media, communications, and Internet company in Austin, Texas. He's been in that position since June 2001. He has experience in the high-technology industry in management, engineering, and support positions with Dell Computer Corporation, UUNET Technologies, Wayport and others.
Scott started his degree program in 2003, and had no prior college credit before jumping into the distance learning environment. He graduated in October 2007 having attained an A.A.S. in Information Technology and a B.S. in Management from Kaplan University.
He is now a MBA student at Norwich University
Scott maintains his own blog at ScottDavis.info where he talks about business, education, politics, technology and society.