College is becoming less popular

https://archive.ph/9rMXd

 

yes, my statement on that was perhaps overstated, but the point is, federally subsidizing the study of fields that doesn’t have an individual or societal payoff should not be among our highest priorities.

Given you are resorting to dislikes and insults now … clearly this is upsetting to you because you are personally vested in the government subsidizing all matter of irrelevant studies and upper middle class welfare. You want the rest of us to pay for all this, at the expense of people who have little and at the expense of more important priorities.

 

You clearly didn’t read the article. Politics is absolutely a factor and is reflected in the political demographics of who is going to college.

 

Fair enough.

I understand the issue with my ideas/suggestions on this issue - even if one agrees with them (which you don’t , and that’s fine) is how exactly do you implement them - for which I don’t have a good answer.

 

Ok now mutz is going to go full child with the dislikes also. Clearly this is upsetting to some.

 

I have no problem with “the market” sorting it out. Government guaranteed loans are not consistent with the market taking care of it.

 

Instead of me listing my biases and perceptions, such a policy should look at actual criteria - such as earnings potential, percent of loans in default, etc. If art history (which I am randomly picking on) has a better payoff and lower default rate than others, by all means, subsidize it.

Perhaps set up some sort of loan market - with private lenders setting the criteria. If private lenders think art history is less risky than engineering or accounting, so be it.

 

There are norms and etiquette even on message boards. Typically dislikes are reserved for offensive material or when people become emotional.

 

I understand it is difficult, perhaps impossible to set up logical and agreeable criteria. However we have chosen to go down a model where states fund less college, government steps in with loans, and via subsidized competition colleges create these elaborate luxurious campuses and facilities and all kinds of obscure programs for academic notoriety - all of which adds lots of cost.

I just think there needs to be a more logical and deliberate way of allocating resources. What we are doing now is not working. I’m open to suggestions.