When did it become vogue for young people to mortgage their future with student loans. A college education is not for everyone, nor should it be. There is nothing wrong with young people choosing to attend a trade school to keep expenses down. The administrators at the universities and colleges cringe when they hear discussion of limiting education only to those who can afford it. During the past 20 or so years the education business has brainwashed young people to believe their only hope for a prosperous future was to attend a four year college, but actually in five years, at the very least. This is not to make the student's life better, it is to pad the pockets of the staff at the colleges and the banks that write the loans.
A few weeks ago I went to dinner at Benihana's and shared my table with 2 young men who graduated college 2 years ago. Neither one has been able to find the high paying job they were told they would get upon graduation and both are considering post graduate studies to defer their student loan payments. So the answer to their debt problem was to aquire more debt and hope down the road they would be able to pay it back. More alarming both voted for Barack Obama, because, and get ready for this, because George Bush reformed the bankruptsy laws so that student loans cannot be adjudicated. You see, if not for George Bush, they would have been able to get their education then file bankruptsy and let others pay for it. They were none too amused when I explained that Barack Obama is the reason they cannot find their dream job, and no one but they should pay for their education. I went on to explain that banks would be less likely to extend credit to students if there was a high risk the loans would defaulted. Evidentally their education was wasted since they did not understand what I was explaining.
The problem is the professors and even the high school teachers fill the students' heads with visions of $50,000+ salaries when they graduate. Sadly, even in good times, those jobs are few and far between to start. Most jobs will start at $28,000 to $35,000 per year, not much higher than someone with just high school degree. The college diploma will start paying off after you prove yourself.
Unfortunately I see a big problem coming and soon. Student loan defaults are increasing in an alarming number according to Forbes magazine. Get ready my friends, this will be the bailout.
It is time to stop promoting a college education to those who cannot afford it or be awarded a scholarship of some sort. A college education is not an entitlement, and it is not for everyone. Start teaching kids the value of learning a trade. Welders, plumbers, mechanics, etc., are in demand and earn good living, and they will start their life without the $300 a month payment for 25 years.
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