Sure NP. In defense of a 4 year university education it taught me how to critically think and compete at a much higher level. The course work was 4 times greater than what I received at junior college.
IMO Higher education is definately a bubble. If you think about it, this was bound to happen and was undeniably encouraged at every level of our economic and social system. Increasing college participation rates created an entire new section of the economy. The local school near my home town has gone from a state college to a university and added 20,000 new students in just under ten years. This university requires thousands of employees and stimulates the local economy through reckless students speninding borrowed money. The reality is that technology makes it so that one person can produce far more than one person can ever consume. Due to this reality we have discovered ever more ingenious ways to sustain and support increased demand. After WWI we started with personal credit, after we maxed that out we started tapping out government and corporate debt. Now that all three of those sources are about as full as they can be we have had to think of new and creative ways to keep people from entering the job force while at the same time stimulating demand. Enter the college degree. It is not sustainable for people making less than 40k a year to be required to get a college degree. I don't know if any of you have thought about it, but the majority of people graduating from college are going jobless in far greater percentage than the national average. What happens when all those loans default? Is that why the student loan business was nationalized. Hide the losses. Either way, in ten years I doubt we will have the kind of college participation that we see today. It is a losing investment for the majority and it increases prices dramitcally for those who would have normally gone without the bubble.
And here is the best college education you could ever recieve. Information singularity is going to change the world. http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Main_Page
f this is true of higher education costs going forward, how would one take advantage of this? How can one short this, what vehicle(s) could one use? ____________________________________________________ Well shit, my Loyola BA and University of Chicago (Drop'd outa UofC in the middle of my MBA program cause I woke up) classes will go up in value. YAHOOO!!!!! I have to agree, higher Ed is a crock of shit on the average. 99% of the Universities do not educate they re-educate and brain wash with most students taking classes that take them far from reality. Education is and will be over-rated for decades to come. How about all the Educated Folk who happen to not see this "Depression" coming. Or all the educated Folk who fell in love with Socialism and even better our Leader, who is from "Higher Ed" as in HAVARD. lol. But, its a catch 22. You need that paper if you wana join the "Working" world. It's a braging piece. I say, we need more Capitalist like Henry Ford, Thomas Eddison, and mom and pops who take risk to start something. But, until banks start lending.....SLAVE TO THE SYSTEM all those "educated" people will become. Thank G-d for the Freethinkers who can fend on their own! Good luck on trying to attend even a state school for under 40k a year in the future. Private University...yea right, come out indebt 6 figuers only to earn 30k. Best of luck to the most recent graduated classes.
That is EXACTLY RIGHT! One of these days I'm going to overlay a history of Tuition inflation with the birth of Sallie Mae. Anyone want to bet the correlation coefficient is less than 70%? What banker doesn't want to make a loan that can be sold to a federal agency without risk? Sallie is the Fannie and Freddie of the Academic business. Lately the "for-profits" have been great shorts. Hey, someone's got to take the fall. I say short 'em and get your tuition back.
Yes, this points needs to be re-emphasized and re-printed everywhere for the thick skulled variety to finally understand that "bailing out" these "sacred" institutions does nobody a favor except the crony fucks who lobby for expanded financing to "anyone and everyone". It's become widespread practice across many industries and has been the main ingredient in "housing inflation" and educational inflation. What I find most remarkable is that there is ANY pulse in retail spending when you account for the debt burden of the younger generations with student debt and/or larger mortgages. Albeit, I'm certain that the large proportion of strategic defaulters, unemployed collecting insurance and growing public sector have been the reason consumer spending still does have a pulse.
damn, how can I put that on my CV, why did they have to call it the Khan Academy, It sound like I got an education in Pakistan.
Agreed completely!!!!! Liberal turd head professors cramming thier socialist, tree hugging, anti capitalism garbage down kids throats! When I was getting my BA, I usually left classes fuming for hours over the non sense bullshit that was being forced. I'm trying to get my Sons to stay OUT of college. Isn't that a total 180 as compared to 20+ years ago when all parents wanted their kids in college...
What would you guys suggest as a good way to take advantage of this, trading wise? Short Sallie Mae? Thanks, MG