Paying For College

This proposed overhaul of the rules that govern federal financial aid for college is a very good start. If you've been living under a rock for awhile, the situation is this: A. College is too expense; B. Student Loans are a problem; C. Federal aid is unnecessarily complex and stingy, and D. One way or another, this situation is going to change, where A+B+C=D.

I won't go into all of the reasons college is more expensive than it should be: hint, hint, it has to do with the corporate mentality of the college-as-business, and not because of Professor's salaries, which are generally stagnant or declining. The new proposals for overhauling federal aid are a very good first step. I won't go through them here--go read about it on the above link. But this is really just a first step. The current economic systems that govern University systems are generally unsustainable, insofar as they place a heavy burden on students from all but the highest and lowest economic spheres, while simultaneously degrading the product (i.e. learning) they are selling. Like I said, I don't think the middle class is going to allow this to go on. I suspect this is an issue that will be largely decided in the next eight years, and the outcome in November could have major consequences.