List of priorities USA needs to follow before it is too late

[Baalzamon]

sethnintendo said:

Baalzamon said:

sethnintendo said:

One other topic that should be mentioned is the rising cost of education (specifically college).  College tuition has risen almost at the same rate as healthcare.  I moved to Texas back in 2000 and went to school at Texas Tech.  At that time they just deregulated universities in Texas saying that it would lead to a decrease in tuition.  After deregulation tuition rates jumped every year almost double then the years they were regulated.  A semester at Texas Tech in 2000 used to cost around 3k now it probably cost around 4-5k.  So in ten years the tuition has almost doubled.  That doesn't seem too fair to me. 

One thing I thought I'd mention.  You realize that with a 3% yearly inflation rate, if college was $3,000 in 2000, it should be a little over $4,000 now.  I also thought I'd mention.  When you went to college, did you get $2,500 back in federal taxes if you spent $4,000 for a year?  I'm not sure when that program came around, but somebody can go to a tech school around here for like $5,500-$6,500 for a year after the federal refund.

I was just stating some ballpark figures for tuition.  After actually checking it appears total tuition and fees for year 2000 were 3.4k (for in-state).  I was pretty far off for the 2010 tuiton.  Looks like it is now 8.2k for total tuition and fees for 2010-2011.  That brings it well over 3% yearly inflation rate.  Not sure about the federal taxes back if you spent over 4,000.  Maybe that was a recent addition.  The 2.5k back in federal taxes sounds like the universities are overcharging and having the federal government foot some of the bill just to make education a tad bit "affordable".

Wait, $8,200 is for the whole year, right?

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Regardless of that, I don't get why people complain about the cost of education in the first place.  I think it is very affordable.  I paid like $3,500 for the whole year this year to go to a good state university.  That includes a $2,000 scholarship and the $2,500 I get back from the government, but that is besides the point.  I'm paying $3,500 for 1/4 of an education that will get me into a field that averages well over $100,000 a year. 

Even for somebody not going into that good of a field, an associates degree will average you $8,000 more per year than a high school degree.  A bachelor's degree will average you $22,000 more than a high school degree.  If you figure in working for 40 years (just for simplicity), an associates degree will average somebody $320,000 more in their life and a bachelor's degree $880,000 more in their life.  So even if you have to pay $40,000 for an education, you're getting such a massive return on your investment, that there is really no reason anybody should be complaining.

Here's the link I got the data from: http://www.earnmydegree.com/online-education/learning-center/education-value.html

Edit: Also thought I'd mention that at least in Minnesota, there is something called PSEO (Post Secondary Enrollment Options).  For your junior year of high school, if you are in the top third of your class, you can go to a college part or full time.  If you are in your senior year of high school, and are in the top half of your class, you can go to college part or full time.  I did this option for my senior year and did it full time.  The best part?  The government pays for all the classes, books, everything.

I've put a total of ~$3,500 into my education so far, and after this semester, I am going to have 73 credits.  College doesn't have to be that expensive.  There are tons of options out there to make it more affordable.

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Also, in regards to the $2,500, it isn't just if you spend $4,000.  For the first $2,000 you spend, you get the full amount back, and for the next $2,000, you get 25% back.  So if you only spent $3,000, you would get $2,250 back.