Higher Education, Higher Costs

OK, it’s been awhile since I was in school, but not so long ago we used clay tablets and rolls of papyrus. Although when I hear what it costs these days to get an education it seems like another century. Well actually it was.

A daughter of mind has taken the Presidents advice and after a few years away went back to school. Unfortunately the Prez forgot to mention how much it costs these days. I remember a time when folks didn’t need to incur a mountain of debt to get an education. I didn’t even know what a student loan was. The private schools were expensive, but if you took the state up on their offer it was really affordable. And community college was free. You just paid for your books.

What got me started on this was how much she paid for an elementary physics textbook. Are you ready? Two hundred and fifty dollars! Of course that price included a book of answers to the problems at the end of each chapter. At that price a tutor should have been included.

If America is to ever again gain the high ground in education and out compete the rest of the world we darn well better make an education affordable.

Remember, many of the ‘Greatest Generation’ went free and that included housing. Those grads helped build America into the powerhouse it once was.

You know, kindergarten through college is free in France. Oh yeah, I forgot they’re Socialists. We can’t have any of that. Can we?