It seems that the typcal answer regarding higher education is that it needs to be made more affordable for the typical family. Obama's plan involves tax credits and financial aid assistance. Similar to minimum wage where Democrats falsely believe increasing the minimum wage benefits workers with no or low skills, giving money through tax credits and financial aid does not make higher education more affordable. what happens is the costs of higher education increase to the level of additional money made available - all other things being equal.
Generally we would expect the costs of higher education to trend with inflation and increase at about the rate of inflation. This should especially be true given that most institutions are non-profit. However, cost increases generally far exceed inflation. And when you adjust for financial aid, grants, tax credits, the real cost increases students pay is actually in line with inflation. Here are a couple of reference points for initial consideration.
FinAid | Saving for College | Tuition Inflation
Quote:
|
Most students dont pay the retail price for college; they pay a discounted rate, thanks to financial aid packages, which have kept pace pretty well with tuition increases. When grants and other non-loan student aid are factored in, the net cost of college -- what students and their parents actually paid to be educated -- rose less than 5% for most students between the 1992-93 academic year and 1999-2000, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The exception: students attending selective private colleges, who paid net costs that were 6.7% higher at the end of the 1990s than at the beginning.
|
The real reasons college costs so much - MSN Money
If, we really want to address affordability (real change) we need to look at what is really driving the costs of higher education up. I am not saying McCain is a change agent on this issue either, but I am tired of the empty political rhetoric on this issue, aren't you?