The Rising Price Of The American Social Contract - 1204 Words

Many of the protesters occupying Wall Street and other places say they are upset about the rising price of going to college. There is little dispute today that the number of students who have debt has increased, and that the amount of money they have borrowed has gone up (Billitteri). Many students incur large amounts of debt that will never pay dividends in higher wages or greater job satisfaction, and they graduate into a world with weak employment prospects. It s a betrayal of the American social contract that says if you work hard and invest in yourself through education, you ll be able to build a better life. The current system is badly in need of an overhaul, and this paper will present several ways to bring about this needed†¦show more content†¦In the 1980s it covered about half; in the 1970s it covered more than 70 percent. (Abramson). The reality is that for young people today, it is harder to educate one s way into the middle class, and college costs are leaving many in this generation without the credentials they need to thrive in the 21st century economy. One radical solution that recently has been proposed is that the federal government should completely cancel student loan debt to stimulate the economy (Caffentzis, 31). However, history has shown that in the case of tax rebate checks, people tend to spend any rebates to pay off other existing debt, or they simply save them. This does little to stimulate the economy, and one suspects that the same would happen with across-the-board loan forgiveness (_Harris_). However, there are several measures that can be taken to make college more affordable. Let s start with the student loan and grant system. The government should increase the number of need-based Pell Grants awarded to students, but there should also be more grant money given to the students willing to chose a cheaper public college or start their academic career by attending community college. Most colleges would consequently want to keep their tuition costs low to remain attractive to prospective students. This goes hand in hand with the fact that administration