The Millennial’s Struggle Our economy over the past two decades has changed tremendously, the cost of living is skyrocketing, college tuition is alarmingly high, and wage increases are not rising to the occasion. The struggles we face are much more difficult than those of generations before us, Dawn Papandrea in the article “5 College Finance Problems Your Parents Didn’t Have” Papandrea talks about the struggles we will face our parents did not. She points out the large increase in the cost of living, the large increase in the cost of higher education, and the alarmingly minor increase in salaries from 1985 to 2015. In “Are Student Loans Destroying the Economy?” Derek Thompson talks about how it is better to make sacrifices to improve your …show more content…
We will graduate with twice the amount of debt than our parents for the same reward, in the article “2014 Continues a 35-Year Trend of Board-Based Wage Stagnation” Gould says “because of the lack of job opportunities and not nearly enough to generate real wage growth. Growth in nominal wages has failed to hit any reasonable target for the Federal Reserve to fear inflation pressures” (Gould) Even though we have made the choice to better ourselves with a college education our economy still has much catching up to do, if we are lucky and persistent enough to obtain a decent job, the reality is we will most likely be underpaid for our work due to the lack of wage growth. Papandrea states in her article that ‘the average salary of a person with a 4-year degree in 1985 was $57,429, in 2013 it was $58,465.” (Papandrea) Therefore, with an increase of living and increase in school tuition, it appears this wage increase is tremendously …show more content…
I highly doubt that has ever been the case, maybe I was just dreaming. The reality of the situation is that it feels like everyone has their 4-year degree now, there is so much more competition than there was 20 years ago and a lot fewer job opportunities. In “5 College Finance Problems Your Parents Didn’t Have” Papandrea says “the millennial generation is facing one of the toughest job markets in decades, in the 1980’s 30 million net jobs were added to the U.S. whereas in 2013 only 4 million were added.” {Papandrea) In the article “2014 Continues a 35-Year Trend of Board-Based Wage Stagnation” Gould writes “Though the labor market has continued to strengthen, it has not tightened nearly enough to absorb the millions of potential workers sidelined by the lack of job opportunities.” (Gould) “millions” of workers on the sidelines, millennials will be forced to battle to even get an interview with potential employers. Now it could be argued that we have the benefit of the technological era, that tech companies are springing up left and right, but unfortunately, the jobs are still far and few between with millions of applicants throwing themselves at
Martin and Lehren’s article “A Generation Hounded by the Soaring Cost of College” addresses the issue faced by current and former college students dealing with large amounts of debt due to student loans. The article presents the reader with stories of former college students who have either graduated or dropped out, and their struggle to pay off their student loans. The article also talks about issues such as students not being informed about high amounts of student loans and why student debts have increased. Martin and Lehren also make the issue of student debt more intimidating by giving examples of high amounts of student loans students have had. The article gives a very hard reality check to anyone reading as to how bad the problem of student debt is.
The second chapter of this book advocates students to attend college, even if they must take on a moderate amount of student loan debt. They give statistics showing the tremendous gap in wages between a college graduate and a non-college graduate. The third chapter of this book argues the opposite viewpoint of the second chapter. The author states that the cost of college today is too high and that there are too many college graduates flooding the job market causing many of them to go unemployed or seek low level jobs that do not pay enough to pay off their student loans. Both of these chapters will help me to show the two main ...
Many people would agree that our country’s young adults have and continue to incur a lifetime of debt by enrolling in college. It’s become an almost acceptable understanding that if you plan to attend college, you might as well expect to graduate with an enormous amount of debt. Robin Wilson, a reporter for the “Chronicle of Higher Education,” and author of “A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely” suggests student loans are very real and can be life altering.
An education is one of the most important tools a person can acquire. It gives them the skills and abilities to obtain a job, earn a wage, and then use that wage to better their lives and the lives of their loved ones. However, due to the seemingly exponential increase in the costs of obtaining a college degree, students are either being driven away entirely from earning a degree or taking out student loans which cripple their financial prospects well after graduation. Without question, the increasing national student loan debt is one of the most pressing economic issues the United States is dealing with, as students who are debt ridden are not able to consume and invest in the economy. Therefore, many politicians and students are calling on the government to forgive their student loan debts so that through their spending the slowly recovering economy can finally return to its pre-2008 strength.
For the past decade, The United States has stressed the importance of college education, to those seeking employment, and better careers. For most people, college is the logical next step in education, as it provides a working knowledge of a desired field and opens the door to many opportunities, but college has become increasingly more expensive as time goes on. Many people feel that college is no longer an option financially. Even with financial aid and scholarships, the cost of a college education can still be very taxing. This is due to massive price increase across the boards, but the main issue on most people’s minds is the debt that will be acquired from higher education.
Over the past decade, it has become evident to the students of the United States that in order to attain a well paying job they must seek a higher education. The higher education, usually a college or university, is practically required in order to succeed. To be able to attend these schools and receive a degree in a specific field it means money, and often a lot of it. For students, the need for a degree is strong, but the cost of going to college may stand in the way of a successful future. Each year the expense of college rises, resulting in the need for students to take out loans. Many students expect to immediately get a job after graduation, however, in more recent years the chances for college graduates to get a well paying job isn’t nearly as high as it used to be. Because students can no longer depend on getting a job fresh out of college, it has become harder to repay the loans. Without a steady income, these individuals have gone into debt and frequently default loans. If nothing is done to stop colleges and universities from increasing the cost of attending their school, the amount of time it takes for students to pay off their loans will become longer and longer. The extreme expenses to attend a college or university may leave a student in financial distress: which may ultimately lead to hardship in creating a living for them and affect the country’s economy.
When thinking about college the same fear is established in just about every student’s mind. How am I going to pay for college? With an increase in college tuition in the past ten years, that question has become more frequent. Whether it is a private or public institution, the price is still no pocket change and how to pay for it has become harder and harder to accomplish. In today’s society, the average person can not get as far as they’d hope without a college education. With that accomplishment of receiving a college education, comes the dreaded loans that some students have and pass on to their children.
With student debt at an all-time high, parents want loans to be a last resort when in need of money for their child’s college tuition. “Money is a major concern for many high school students (and their parents) who are weighing college options” (Austin). Debt is a serious matter and is a hard thing to pay back. Another controversy with college tuition is not every person gets to have the chance to attend college. With colleges having a monthly payment plan, there could be a possibility that more students would have the ability to experience college and more would graduate with less debt. Rather than the necessity of having the whole college tuition for that school year, students would b...
For at least a century, tuition at selective private colleges and universities has risen annually by two to three percent more than the rate of inflation (Ehrenberg 1). Tuition increases at public colleges have slowed slightly, but the cost is still out of reach for low-income students. Financial aid has dwindled. A select group of colleges and universities are cutting their tuition; (Carapezza, 2013) however, student debts can stick with a person, even after graduation. Due to a university’s cost, a handful of tuition is passed down to the students. With college follows the higher cost of living. Incomes are limited due to low paying jobs. During my first week in college, everything about college was an adventure. From what to expect in college, to the adaptation of the college environment, the college experience seemed nerve wracking at first. However, the lessons from college proved to be beneficial towards my life. At that moment, not only have I learned about the college experience, I’ve also learn about the burdens of college tuition, how it can impact a person’s life, and as well as being a successful college student. Also, college tuition has escalated my worries toward the future. To help pay for higher education, the federal government offers tuition tax credit programs (College Board, n.d). Anyone who can afford to pay for thousands of dollars can usually ignore it. As for everyone else, when every penny counts, questions will be raised about where every penny is going. If tax dollars were to be invested to either the national health care or the military, for one, transferring taxes to health care will ensure the public's health; however, since taxes was invested in health care, there will be fewer doctors towards a m...
Abstract As people of many ages wish to further their education outside of high school, they tend to take out student loans in order to fulfill this wish since the large tuition payment is not in their budget. Paying for an education that presents a degree seems easy to many by taking out large loans to pay for their education. Recently, student loans have challenged the economy of Americans. Education is perceived as a necessary expense to many, in which they do not mind putting a burden on the economy for.
There is no escaping the fact that the cost of college tuition continues to rise in the United States each year. To make it worse, having a college degree is no longer an option, but a requirement in today’s society. According to data gathered by the College Board, total costs at public four-year institutions rose more rapidly between 2003-04 and 2013-14 than they did during either of the two preceding decades (Collegeboard.com). Students are pressured to continue into higher education, but yet, the increasing costs of books and tuition make us think twice. Sometimes, some of these students have to leave with their education partially finished, leaving them with crushing debts.
In an article written by Andrew Lehren, the author provides the bold statement that “the only thing worse than graduating with lots of debt is not going to college at all” (Lehren). In today 's society, many families lack the funds to provide a full ride for their children in terms of college. Due to this fact, many people turn to alternate solutions such as loans or diving straight into the workforce instead of attending college at all. These solutions, however, may greatly affect a person throughout the course of their life. The problem of college debt is increasing rates in regards to tuition, however, fortunately there are various solutions accessible in order to decrease or eliminate the debt that many american students face.
Since the 1973-74 school year to the 2008-2009 school year, the price of attending a four-year public or private school has roughly tripled after adjusting for inflation according to College Board. (Update). The current price of college tuition leaves students with many problems in order to receive a college degree which most careers today require. Attending college is part of the “American Dream” and the freedoms that this great country offers but when students can not afford the freedoms we offer, then it becomes a problem. Most college students are left with substantial amounts of debt restricting them from further advancing in their careers after they graduate and the average family can not keep up with the rising costs of education and have to resort to finding other ways to get the desperately needed money. College Tuition--tripling in 40 years, leaving students with large amounts of debt, accounting for 3.3% of the total U.S. gdp-- should be lowered.
People are more curious now and speculate if a degree is worth it before they go and spend all the time and money for a college education. In “The Value of a College Degree” Jaison R. Abel and Richard Deitz says “Tuition costs have been rising considerably faster than inflation, student debt is mounting, wages for college graduates have been falling, and recent college graduates have been struggling to find good jobs. These trends might lead one to believe that college is no longer a good investment” (Abel and Deitz, 2014). This is a good counter argument but I can tell you why it isn’t valid. Why is the value of a degree so high even when tuition costs are rising and college graduate wages are getting less and less? The answer is because the wages of high school graduates have also been dropping. Since both wages are dropping wouldn’t it make sense to go with the higher one? I think so because I’d rather get a degree and have a medium paying job than not have a degree and have a low paying
A college education has become the expectation for most youth in the United States. Children need a college education to succeed in the global economy. Unfortunately for the majority of Americans the price of an education has become the equivalent to a small house. The steep tuition of a college education has made it an intimidating financial hurdle for middle class families. In 1986-1987 school year the average tuition at a private university was $20,566 (adjusted to 2011 dollars) while in 2011 the average cost was $28,500 for an increase of 38.6%. Similarly in public universities there has been an increase in tuition: in the 1986-1987 school year the average tuition at a public university was $8,454 (adjusted to 2011 dollars) while in 2011 the average cost was actually $20,770 for an increase of 145.7%. Most families who are able to save for college try to do so, therefore their children are not left with large amounts of debt due to loans. Nevertheless, families are only able to save on average around $10,000, which is not enough to pay for a full educ...