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I think it's a game of chicken. The nation has a dire need for an educated workforce, but it knows that the workforce can't pay for the education with cash on h

I think it's a game of chicken. The nation has a dire need for an educated workforce, but it knows that the workforce can't pay for the education with cash on hand. At the same time, those workers need education to get jobs with living wages. So we have this system of what amounts to a loose form of indentured servitude with onerous, inescapable debt burden. If that system of debt peonage were stripped away by legislation, I would wager that society would very quickly cobble together some scheme to continue receiving its supply of educated workers.

baggy_trough 4y ago
Tuitions would have to be lowered by a gigantic proportion, which would hit the college administrations / bureaucrats very hard. Their interests are really at the heart of the student loan problem.
- mullingitover 4y ago
  Not just administrators - expensive campuses and vanity college football programs (football is a solid money-loser for a firm majority of colleges, according to the NCAA[1]. This is especially apparent when you look at the highest-paid government employees - in nearly every state, it's a college football coach). [1] https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2019/11/12/finances-of-intercollegiate-athletics-database.aspx https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2019/11/12/finances-of-intercoll...
  - arlcode 4y ago
    From the outside that's just weird. One can argue that attracting scientists and teachers with high wages and expensive toys is beneficial for research and education but it's hard to see how "professional" sports teams factor into that. AFAIK in any country outside the US university sport teams are little more than hobby clubs for students and make do with little resources. Yet professional sports seem to be fine regardless. NFL Clubs for example should be able to build up their own youth departments and not outsource it to the public. Why would a university need a TV-ready football stadium for thousands of spectators with commercial exploitation of players? A "field", a few stands and a hot dog booth seems enough. Go sports team.
  - oaktrout 4y ago
    Couldn't get that report to run on my phone, but there is an older linked study here that noted 57% of NCAA football programs were profitable: https://christopherlee.com/college-athletics-by-the-number/ https://christopherlee.com/college-athletics-by-the-number/. Also, even if the programs themselves aren't profitable that doesn't mean they don't make a net profit to the college through increased admissions. Lots of college students want to go to a school where they can tailgate and watch a football game. The NCAA also may have an incentive to say that football isn't profitable, historically they have avoided paying athletes.

baggy_trough 4y ago

Tuitions would have to be lowered by a gigantic proportion, which would hit the college administrations / bureaucrats very hard. Their interests are really at the heart of the student loan problem.

mullingitover 4y ago
Not just administrators - expensive campuses and vanity college football programs (football is a solid money-loser for a firm majority of colleges, according to the NCAA[1]. This is especially apparent when you look at the highest-paid government employees - in nearly every state, it's a college football coach). [1] https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2019/11/12/finances-of-intercollegiate-athletics-database.aspx https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2019/11/12/finances-of-intercoll...
- arlcode 4y ago
  From the outside that's just weird. One can argue that attracting scientists and teachers with high wages and expensive toys is beneficial for research and education but it's hard to see how "professional" sports teams factor into that. AFAIK in any country outside the US university sport teams are little more than hobby clubs for students and make do with little resources. Yet professional sports seem to be fine regardless. NFL Clubs for example should be able to build up their own youth departments and not outsource it to the public. Why would a university need a TV-ready football stadium for thousands of spectators with commercial exploitation of players? A "field", a few stands and a hot dog booth seems enough. Go sports team.
- oaktrout 4y ago
  Couldn't get that report to run on my phone, but there is an older linked study here that noted 57% of NCAA football programs were profitable: https://christopherlee.com/college-athletics-by-the-number/ https://christopherlee.com/college-athletics-by-the-number/. Also, even if the programs themselves aren't profitable that doesn't mean they don't make a net profit to the college through increased admissions. Lots of college students want to go to a school where they can tailgate and watch a football game. The NCAA also may have an incentive to say that football isn't profitable, historically they have avoided paying athletes.