College Conspiracy

[aborgman]

Also, you realizing this problem (IMO) puts you in the minority. We aren't going through this housing crisis because one or two people defaulted on their loans and made poor choices. We're going through it because tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people began defaulting.

Actually, funny enough - all that was required to cause the housing collapse was PERFECTLY NORMAL AND EXPECTED DEFAULT RATES.

That is the saddest thing about it. Ratings agencies and a number of large banks were betting (and lots and lots of money) that default rates wouldn't reach normal levels.

Sadly - they went way over that.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I wish my thoughts and opinions weren't considered so radical. It doesn't help that I show little sympathy ad seem to be proud that I'm a jerk.

In a non-political way, my family are financial conservatives. This doesn't mean cheap, but a heck of a lot more patience and planning. I could spend days talking about the stuff they taught me, which seemed strict as hell as a kid, but basically minimizes debt. You take out loans for college, house, and 1st car only. When you're done paying off the car, that doesn't mean to get a new car!!!

You don't seem like a jerk. I honestly agree with most of your view and have similar thoughts and feelings on the issue. If you had read what I wrote in the welfare thread in regards to welfare recipients you would of thought I was being a heartless ******* because of what I was saying.

I'm like you, I believe people need to accept financial responsibility and need to learn how to live within their means. Unfortunately, it seems like most people these days don't understand this line of thought; and that coupled with government agencies, banks, institutes of higher learning, political leaders, etc... telling America's youth that you need an education and can afford to take out these astronomical loans is setting us all up for failure.

 

[spade2you]

You don't seem like a jerk. I honestly agree with most of your view and have similar thoughts and feelings on the issue. If you had read what I wrote in the welfare thread in regards to welfare recipients you would of thought I was being a heartless ******* because of what I was saying.

I'm like you, I believe people need to accept financial responsibility and need to learn how to live within their means. Unfortunately, it seems like most people these days don't understand this line of thought; and that coupled with government agencies, banks, institutes of higher learning, political leaders, etc... telling America's youth that you need an education and can afford to take out these astronomical loans is setting us all up for failure.

Was it the drug testing for welfare thread? LOL, it was hard for me to notice anyone being heartless as strict as I tend to be. That system is broken, too. Not much else to say that it's allowed to be abused, so it is abused. Allowing it for so long has created too much reliance.

If I had to single out a variable/trait, I think the US has an entitlement complex. Even if they can't afford it, some still think they are owed it.

Future youth are in a bind. College is expensive and will proably continue to grow in cost, although perhaps caps might be set. Who knows? Regardless, parents, who should be aware of the loans they're repaying should probably start a college fund or point their children to a real job skill, especially in an area where there's a need for workers. A local storage company used to have a sign that always said, "don't major in minor things" at the start of every school year.

 

[L-A]

Isn't college in Québec like 1300 per session or so? Thank [DEL]God[/DEL] my parents I'm born there that will save me some money when I'll pursue my master

That's a good approximation. Of course, depending on course material, that may run a bit (or a lot) higher.

Also – we pay the rest of the implied costs through taxes, something I'm perfectly fine with.

 

[MakiSupaStar]

Without seeing the video (I'll watch it later because I'm on my phone in a place I can't see it) I'm always weary of arguments that discourage people getting educated. But when you couple that with other shady motives (breaking public unions, creating distractive issues that pits working people against each other, and even things like 'the dream act') I can't help but feel that this is all part of a larger plan which is mulching the soil so American manufacturing jobs can start growing domestically. But they have to prepare their future workforce in order to make their product competitive on the global market. They can't do that with an educated, organized workforce. Ideally, a manufacturing owner would want loyal, dumb workers that are intelligent enough to do the job at hand, but not smart enough to realize that they're getting fleeced. Loyalty could easily be bought with the employee realizing that he's easy to replace.

I'm not saying that everyone needs to get educated through a university, but people should still gain skills, certificates, and licenses within a desired trade. People should still seek out ways to improve themselves with internships, on the job training, being aware of ways to capitalize on trends, and their loyalty should always be to themselves first. A worker that sees themselves as a lifelong learner (whether it's inside the classroom or not) will be much more successful than a worker who is uneducated, blindly loyal, and disposable.

I'll try to watch the video in a few hours.

 

[fdeck]

YouTube - College Conspiracy

"College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!"

National Inflation Association​

I made the mistake of clicking on the National Inflation Association link. This just in:

"Obama Preparing for Martial Law During Hyperinflation"

Er, okay... backing away slowly...

I hope this doesn't sound political, but what's with the r**** w*** attacking education at every opportunity? A couple decades ago, it was just the public schools that they wanted to abolish, now it's college education too.

 

[Pilgrim]

No, what caused the housing crisis was politicians and bankers deciding to make loans to people who were unqualified to own a home, never had a chance of making the payments, and who the bankers knew damn well would default if the economy even sneezed.

The people who applied for mortgages were every bit as much to blame - they knew they couldn't make the payments if anything went wrong.

The economy sneezed - and the results were inevitable.

And when it comes to the original YouTube video link, remember that there are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn Lies, and YouTube Lies.

 

[fdeck]

The people who applied for mortgages were every bit as much to blame - they knew they couldn't make the payments if anything went wrong.

I disagree. I don't think that most people are sophisticated enough to really understand personal finance and economics. And I think that they were misled by the assumption that the banks wouldn't deliberately make a risky loan.

The same fraud that the banks perpertrated on the financial community, they also perpertrated on the public.

 

[colcifer]

I don't want to get caught up in a political discussion so I'll just say this and leave:

I worry more about academic inflation than monetary inflation.

 

[warnergt]

The last time gas average 79 cents was about 1978.

I took these pictures below. The left side was taken Jan. 5, 1999.
It was no special promotion. That was the going price of gas
at that time.

Here's a movie to go with it. You get a glance of my 1998 Chevy Blazer.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[warnergt]

The financial instituions themselves are at fault because PURE GREED drove them to give out these garbage loans.

And lastly, the people who took these garbage loans are gulity, because no one forced them to take em'. They took these loans because, like many other Americans, they just *had* to keep up with Joneses and have everything the Joneses have. Without any sort of self responsbility or thought of consequences, THEIR GREED drove them to take these garbage loans.

The fault is with the federal government for backing the
garbage loans. Just like the housing bubble, it was the
government meddling that created the problem by
backing/subsidizing/guaranteeing loans that would not have
otherwise been made. Even greedy lenders don't make loans
that won't get paid back.

Meanwhile, the schools keep jacking up the prices and pulling
in the money because the lenders have nothing to lose.

The federal Department of Education needs to be eliminated.

 

[warnergt]

The U.S. federal government has a defaulted student loan
portfolio of about $60 billion. Imagine how many loans they
had to give out to get $60 billion worth of bad ones.

Why is the U.S. federal government in the loan business anyway?

 

[ADbassman]

The only thing higher education needs is a restructuring of the curriculum and a vast decrease in prices. I got a 4 year degree from a public institution and the education I received was not equal to the money I paid. I got a much better education from a community college. Now I'm looking at grad schools, and even with my GI Bill it's looking pretty bleak. How the hell does anybody afford grad school?

Further, I think colleges need to stop offering BS classes like "Perspectives on Harry Potter" and focus on more practical skills. Also put in place more stringent admission guidelines because there were far too many people I went to school with who had no right being there.

 

[spade2you]

Why is the U.S. federal government in the loan business anyway?

I'm hardly in favor of more government, but given that education is deemed a right, I think the general public should be allowed to further their education with federal aid.

The price of higher education is another story.........

 

[MIJ-VI]

I made the mistake of clicking on the National Inflation Association link. This just in:

"Obama Preparing for Martial Law During Hyperinflation"

Er, okay... backing away slowly...

I hope this doesn't sound political, but what's with the r**** w*** attacking education at every opportunity? A couple decades ago, it was just the public schools that they wanted to abolish, now it's college education too.

I don't recall the National Inflation Association link displaying any political headlines when I posted it.

As for the video link which IIRC someone had deemed to be too lengthy, here's a 7 min. offering which covers the same theme:

ABC 20/20 - College is a Rip Off - YouTube

For an article which underscores said theme, Google:

Scottish academic encourages selling kidneys to pay off student loan debt

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Scottish academic encourages selling kidneys to pay off student loan debt

Reading some articles on that, some of it makes sense. It helps get organ donations, plus I thought folks in the US would be all for being able to do what you want to your own body? (as a side, the researcher works at the same university where I achieved my undergrad degree, also have to laugh at the comments, Research Fellows, elitist? Hah, someone who has no idea of the pay scales in research!)

But general outrage aside:

Scotland is very VERY different to the US when it comes to higher education.

Scottish student, studying in Scotland? You get 5 years of tuition fee's paid for you, as long as you are progressing.

If you need to take out a loan, you can take one, but it isn't too crippling (max of ~£4,500 per year, and not many are offered near that much, interest rates are tiny). There are also a lot of bursary systems on the go.

The government here paid for me to go through 5 years of University for a degree. I worked while at University, taking out a loan each year for extra support. I have ~£11k of student debt, with about £70 a year interest on that.

I also have a Masters, and was eligible to have my tuition fees paid and to receive £8k in financial support for the year.

I am currently a few years into my PhD, my tuition fee's are paid for me, and I get paid to it.

So, yeah, our system ain't too shabby over here

 

[burk48237]

If you saw Sunday's Free Press that shown Robert Bobb the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, move Mark Twain to Boynton which have three times the number seats then students and was one of the reason's he gave for closing school to many empty seats.

Do DPS control the Foundation or outside group? If an outside group control the foundation, then what is DPS Board row with selection of is director? Our we mixing DPS and None DPS row's, and who is the watch dog?

http://detnews.com/article/20100304/OPINION03/3040437/Does-DPS-leader-s-writing-send-wrong-message

These are two quotes from a sample of e-mails of the college degreed (Wayne State), Detroit Public schools graduate Detroit Public Schools former President Otis Mathis. He was later convicted for lewd behavior (masturbating in front of employees).

One thing I'm convinced of, society spends more time and money on education than we ever have. A college education easily costs ten times what it did in the late 70's when I attended community college. Wether or not it is any better or as good of a value is quite debatable.

I'm no fan of conspiracies, I just suspect that this is the natural result of a situation when big money corrupts the system. And the fact that Otis Mathis got an education degree is certainly corrupt.

 

[spade2you]

I can't say if it's totally corruption, but I'm surprised the government hasn't taken a look at state schools. I'm 100% fine with private schools staying private, but think it's worth checking the books of state funded colleges. Perhaps if state schools dropped their rates or at least capped them, many private schools would have to trim the fat a bit to stay competitive.

 

[MIJ-VI]

Without seeing the video (I'll watch it later because I'm on my phone in a place I can't see it) I'm always weary of arguments that discourage people getting educated. But when you couple that with other shady motives (breaking public unions, creating distractive issues that pits working people against each other, and even things like 'the dream act') I can't help but feel that this is all part of a larger plan which is mulching the soil so American manufacturing jobs can start growing domestically. But they have to prepare their future workforce in order to make their product competitive on the global market. They can't do that with an educated, organized workforce. Ideally, a manufacturing owner would want loyal, dumb workers that are intelligent enough to do the job at hand, but not smart enough to realize that they're getting fleeced. Loyalty could easily be bought with the employee realizing that he's easy to replace.

I'm not saying that everyone needs to get educated through a university, but people should still gain skills, certificates, and licenses within a desired trade. People should still seek out ways to improve themselves with internships, on the job training, being aware of ways to capitalize on trends, and their loyalty should always be to themselves first. A worker that sees themselves as a lifelong learner (whether it's inside the classroom or not) will be much more successful than a worker who is uneducated, blindly loyal, and disposable.

I'll try to watch the video in a few hours.

On the subject of grooming a workforce check out the Prussian Roots link in my sig.

 

[MIJ-VI]

Reading some articles on that, some of it makes sense. It helps get organ donations, plus I thought folks in the US would be all for being able to do what you want to your own body? (as a side, the researcher works at the same university where I achieved my undergrad degree, also have to laugh at the comments, Research Fellows, elitist? Hah, someone who has no idea of the pay scales in research!)

But general outrage aside:

Scotland is very VERY different to the US when it comes to higher education.

Scottish student, studying in Scotland? You get 5 years of tuition fee's paid for you, as long as you are progressing.

If you need to take out a loan, you can take one, but it isn't too crippling (max of ~£4,500 per year, and not many are offered near that much, interest rates are tiny). There are also a lot of bursary systems on the go.

The government here paid for me to go through 5 years of University for a degree. I worked while at University, taking out a loan each year for extra support. I have ~£11k of student debt, with about £70 a year interest on that.

I also have a Masters, and was eligible to have my tuition fees paid and to receive £8k in financial support for the year.

I am currently a few years into my PhD, my tuition fee's are paid for me, and I get paid to it.

So, yeah, our system ain't too shabby over here

At first I thought that kidney article was an Onion piece.

Good spelling, grammar & open spaced paragraphs... Yep, you got your money's worth.