
The overblown crisis in American education - ttunguz
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2010/09/27/100927taco_talk_lemann
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kls
_The people waiting in those lines don’t seem deterred by price increases,
even in a terrible recession._

This is a poor argument to support his point. The recession is lending to
their undeterrement, as for some it looks to be the only hope of an exit from
the realities of the recession. The problem is, if education does implode and
their efforts are in vein then they now become saddled with debt that is
binding even after recourse like a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Educational debt is
one of the few that in most cases cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy.

Therefore, these individuals may be making worse decisions out of desperation
that could have lasting ramifications on their earning potential.

I made the same rash decision during the .com crash, figuring a degree would
set me in front of other candidates even though by that time I had over 8
years in the industry. Jobs where hard to come by and any possibility of
gaining control of the situation was magnified by the magnitude of the
situation. The rest of America is now going through that same reality and I am
sure many are applying the same faulty thinking.

I ended up 40k in the hole for an education that provided no value with
respects to providing me a competitive advantage in the job market.
Fortunately for me it has had no ill effect either so it is pretty much a wash
but for others it may not be the same. If they are already on the brink and
earning a degree does not deliver them, then they now have debt that they
cannot free themselves from thereby putting themselves in a worse position
than they started from.

