5 ms·

This has got nothing to do with 'survival.' Nobody is going to starve because they didn't get a university degree. We're talking about relative status within a

by Tycho 10y ago

This has got nothing to do with 'survival.' Nobody is going to starve because they didn't get a university degree. We're talking about relative status within a class system. More specifically menial jobs vs. nice jobs. Not all education is equal but there's no particularly good reason for the runaway costs. Quite simply, the middle class are willing to tolerate ridiculous tuition costs because it lets them stay ahead of the poor.

chaostheory 10y ago
> This has got nothing to do with 'survival.' The meaning of survival will vary from person to person. imo 'survival' for the middle class means not living paycheck to paycheck or having to work multiple part time jobs i.e. having a 'nice' job. While it's possible to achieve this without a degree, it's also a lot more difficult to do so without a degree. Again regardless of what survival means for different people, my point stands: most people don't value education in order to 'keep the lower class down', they value it so they can 'get by' > Not all education is equal but there's no particularly good reason for the runaway costs. There IS a good reason for it. Given the success of 40k and up a year diploma mills that target the poor; everyone, including the poor, has access to easy credit when it comes to funding education. Hence the runaway education costs. http://blog.credit.com/2015/07/are-student-loans-causing-college-tuitions-to-skyrocket-120860/ http://blog.credit.com/2015/07/are-student-loans-causing-col...
- Tycho 10y ago
  When survival = nice job that's exactly what I'm talking about. Someone has to do the menial jobs. Overpriced education ensures that it won't be the people in the middle class. Loans explain why it is possible for tuition fees to rise so much, but not why we have them, ie. why people accept them. The diploma mills are just a side-effect.

by Tycho 10y ago

chaostheory 10y ago

> This has got nothing to do with 'survival.' The meaning of survival will vary from person to person. imo 'survival' for the middle class means not living paycheck to paycheck or having to work multiple part time jobs i.e. having a 'nice' job. While it's possible to achieve this without a degree, it's also a lot more difficult to do so without a degree. Again regardless of what survival means for different people, my point stands: most people don't value education in order to 'keep the lower class down', they value it so they can 'get by' > Not all education is equal but there's no particularly good reason for the runaway costs. There IS a good reason for it. Given the success of 40k and up a year diploma mills that target the poor; everyone, including the poor, has access to easy credit when it comes to funding education. Hence the runaway education costs. http://blog.credit.com/2015/07/are-student-loans-causing-college-tuitions-to-skyrocket-120860/ http://blog.credit.com/2015/07/are-student-loans-causing-col...

Tycho 10y ago
When survival = nice job that's exactly what I'm talking about. Someone has to do the menial jobs. Overpriced education ensures that it won't be the people in the middle class. Loans explain why it is possible for tuition fees to rise so much, but not why we have them, ie. why people accept them. The diploma mills are just a side-effect.