College Ends Up in Debt and Servitude for Many Black Students
by John Lawrence
A new in depth study by the Brookings Institution shows that the student loan debt crisis is worse than previously thought. As many as 40% of students default on their loans. The crisis is particularly disastrous for black students. The study found "Debt and default among black college students is at crisis levels, and even a bachelor’s degree is no guarantee of security: black BA graduates default at five times the rate of white BA graduates (21 versus 4 percent), and are more likely to default than white dropouts."
For profit colleges are literally sucking the blood out of black students, and determining that they will have a future mired in debt. White students aren't that much better off. Although most debts can be discharged in bankruptcy, student loan debt cannot. They are stuck with a noose around their neck for life in some cases. Free money for college is just too much of a false incentive for poor people who are sold a bill of goods which envisions for them a life in which they have pulled themselves out of poverty. Instead they get a life in which escalating payments on their debt guarantees a life of debt servitude, a high class form of slavery.
The Incredible Rise of Student Loan Debt in America
It doesn't have to be this way. Many countries guarantee free education from preschool to graduate school. The key for higher education is does the student's past history merit the state investing in further higher education. If so, they can get the education debt free. If not, they will have to settle for the education they've already received. Not everyone is PhD material. For for profit colleges in the US everyone is PhD material as long as they borrow the money for the education they are about to receive. This does not make sense.
Guidance counselors should guide students to the level and type of education that best suits them and prepares them for a job that they will be happy and successful in. Instead guidance and admission officers at for profit colleges are basically salesmen telling prospective students how much better their lives will be if they only attend their college. They even qualify for financial assistance, a euphemism for taking out a loan and going into debt. The admission officers never tell them about the history of student loan debt, nor do they tell them about their shortcomings as a student which might make it inadvisable to attend college at all. Maybe they would be better off as a tradesman or woman.
Trades people make very good money and their skills are in constant demand. Anything dealing with houses or cars will never go out of style. Mechanics, electricians, plumbers, solar installers, carpenters ... these are the jobs of the future. One can become a skilled tradesman for very little money. In many cases companies will even pay for the necessary training and education. One can be independent and self-employed as an option. A person can work for an employer and do jobs on the side. There are many possibilities. You don't need a piece of paper signifying that you have a college degree. If that piece of paper comes from a for profit college, it's probably worthless anyway. Even if it comes from a prestigious institution, it's no guarantee of employment.
As a tradesman, you have practical skills which can be used to build wealth as well as make a living. There are no guarantees with a corporate job which is mainly what the college degree is useful in getting. Self-employed people don't need a degree. Tradespeople only need a set of skills which are quickly apparent to any employer.The US should emulate European countries which attempt to place people in appropriate careers whether they be trades or college educated depending on their aptitudes and preferences. Either way their education is free.
