February 12th, 2025

Dear Readers,

Since Jimmy Carter created the Department of Education in 1979, the cost of a four-year college has skyrocketed.

You might say, "Oh, well, it’s inflation or a standard rise in price over time."

Wrong.

In the year 1980, the average tuition for a semester of school at a public institution was $1,000 and $5,000 at a private one.

In 2024, the average tuition for a public four-year college is approximately $10,000 per year (for in-state students), while private four-year colleges average around $40,000 per year.

These figures reflect tuition and fees only; they do not include room, board, and other costs.

That’s a 10x increase for public colleges and an 8x increase for private colleges.

Imagine you’re an eighteen-year-old who has just graduated high school. You’ve been told your whole life that to be successful, you need to go to college.

So, of course, you apply and get accepted into your dream college (congrats)! Now, it’s the end of summer, classes are about to start, and this dream college of yours is asking for tuition.

Obviously, you don’t have $10,000 lying around, so what do you do? You take out a loan, of course. But not a regular, personal loan from a commercial bank; instead, you take out a loan from the government because they’ve agreed to give you all the money you need for your art history degree (something a commercial bank would never do).

Now, after four years, you’re $40,000—not including interest—in debt and can’t find a job because the art history degree you got isn’t usable in this economy (or any other, for that matter).

So, whose fault is this?

Well, at first, you might think that it’s this plucky eighteen-year-old's, and while they should not be stricken of all blame, it’s not totally on them.

The system that the federal government has created around higher education has caused more problems than it has fixed.

First, until government-backed loans, the push and desire to attend four-year colleges was low. Most people around the country were content to get an apprenticeship or trade job to support themselves and their families. But now, people who more than likely wouldn’t have attended a four-year college can, which is all well and good, but not everyone is suited to the style of work a bachelor's degree often leads to.

Second, since the government is backing the loans, not a commercial bank, colleges know now that they are almost guaranteed a four-year tuition out of a student. It’s impossible to file for bankruptcy on a loan taken from the government, so they are willing to give the money to anyone. A bank would be more hesitant with individuals obtaining degrees with no economic value or quick return on investment.

The government is more than happy to lend hundreds of thousands of dollars, at a high interest rate, to anybody in the country, especially foolish eighteen-year-olds.