Why financial aid is broken and a simple solution to fix it | Susan Dynarski | TEDxIndianapolis

[@GoldenSpoons]

Unfortunately, we need less people attending college, not more, gaps aside. The dilution is already at a breaking point. If education is the primary concern, why not teach more in primary school, which is already free.....

[@DemetriT1]

I agree, stop teaching subjects people will never need. People can grow up at 18+ years old and not know how to establish good credit, how to use a credit card, save, invest, use in demand job skills, etc...

[@MsPratt-zd3qd]

Is the problem the desire to get an education or the system?

[@caligirl742]

might I add 1 question to the 2 questions proposed. "who is paying for the college education"? I have to pay my own way through college, with no help from my parents and because of their income I qualify for no financial aid what so ever. The only way to gain help was to file an appeal that states "I have to relationship with my parents", which would have been a lie. So I work full time to barely manage my monthly payments. The FASFA system has respectfully screwed me.

[@rwdplz1]

My parents made too much money for ME to get much Federal Student Aid, despite the fact they made it clear they would contribute nothing. BUT I could borrow as much as I wanted!

[@jamesburmeister1608]

This happened to me too

[@juanpingdeltoro2553]

yeah i didnt have time to study because i had to help my parents in the fields to keep a roof over our heads and get some new clothes if i was lucky it sucks to wear shoes that are holey and kids make fun of you but im still here and fighting tooth and nail to come up in this country of privilege and poverty.

[@vincevaughn3189]

It's a good start. But a little over-simplistic.

[@MisterTutor2010]

You have a BA? That's BS :) Don't get mad I'm just having Pun :)

[@emnavarro1629]

it's 2020 and we are still using the FASFA

[@rubixpuzzlechamp]

Eliminating paperwork is great, but economically speaking, subsidizing higher education will simply drive up prices even more. I dare say that it might be the problem, NOT the solution.

[@shermitt]

rubixpuzzlechamp what would you suggest? By not subsidizing education, students from low income families will not even be able to sniff college. you are partially correct to say that subsidizing education is part of the problem as schools have no incentive to become financially efficient, but get rid of the entire aid program will further the societal divide between the have's and have not's.

[@rubixpuzzlechamp]

As a conservative, every time I see the government getting involved in something like this, they may truly mean well, but they end up screwing things up for everyone else. Also, THERE IS NO EASY SOLUTION TO THIS. This is the bubble that is created when perverse incentives have the opportunity to foster. On one hand, we could keep pumping taxpayers money to subsidize the exponentially increasing tuition costs and the middle class takes it in the butt in huge taxes (because the govt can be as generous as you want with other people's money and that's why private student loans can't compete). Not to mention the students themselves, especially those at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum, who can't pay back these massive student loan debts. So who does this really benefit? Not the poor, not the middle class, not employers, but oversized govt and overpaid school systems. On the OTHER HAND, we could make the right but tough choice to get govt out of subsidizing higher education. YES, this will bring a lot of short term pain, but it has to happen to make college affordable again. This is an unsustainable practice, and it has to end sooner or later. Once privatization kicks in, or when the bubble of student loans pops, or when kids quit going to college because its too expensive, or all of the above: watch the price of tuition drop. Either way there will be pain. How much and over what time frame is what we have to determine for ourselves. A whole lot for everyone in the long run, or a lot in the short term for some? My heart breaks for those who can't afford higher education, but lets not kid ourselves, GOVERNMENT HAS NOT HELPED. Whether or not it is "fair" (it's not). They are the ones who are going to have to make the really tough decisions, get a job early, and maybe study at a vocational school, and then work your way up. Another example of government trying to help the impoverished was to raise the minimum wage to $15/ hour. Seems "fair". But not until you face reality. You install a new price floor like that, thousands will lose the only job they could find. Economics 101. How does this help? Not the employee who just lost his/her job, not the company that losses money, not the consumer that now must pay more, but a few employees that are lucky enough not to get fired that are now artificially overpaid. This is why gas-stations are now self-servicing when they used to have 5 or 6 guys checking everything on your car, this is why Detroit now is in ruins because they used to be the car capital of the world, unions came along and artificially drove up wages, and their jobs moved to Asia. This same kind of liberal economical thinking that ruined Detroit, will soon ruin the poor by taking away the few jobs they can get, and will ruin the middle class with taxes for college whether they like it or not.

[@horserenoir9210]

rubixpuzzlechamp yet sweden, Denmark, france, germany, etc have affordable or no cost at the point of service higher education thanks to subsidizing.

[@wetalkcollege3830]

@@rubixpuzzlechamp I completely agree with you but most of the aid is actually given out by the colleges themselves in the form of grants... so it really isn't the government doing the work giving out money, it is the private institutions.

[@DemetriT1]

Yeah FASFA isn't a good system. They expect Parents to only contribute less than 10% each year when tuition rises 25% per semester.

[@mikemchugh3784]

A person demonstrates their need for educational financing simply by applying for the student loan. THAT should be the standard. FAFSA is means testing run a muck and our best programs are free from means testing: Social Security and Medicare.

[@dragonore2009]

The solution to secondary education is to open it up to the private sector. The private sector can educate our populace at a cost of zero dollars to the tax payer.

[@ericeaton2386]

It's already open to the private sector, and they have shown that they cost taxpayers far more while producing far worse results. Look up Corinthian colleges, or ITT Tech.

[@dragonore2009]

@@ericeaton2386 I'm referring to a no tax dollars solution which is available right now, today, in the private sector. Right now, today, you can sign up for a code bootcamp that will teach you how to code. Much of these schools don't get a penny from you, unless you get a job paying $50k/year or more. Once you have a job secured they take a certain percentage as specified by the contract, perhaps 20% or your first year salary. If you can not obtain employment upon completion of the program, your education was truly free. You know what this means right? This means it is in the financial interest of the school to train you well, because your successful graduation and the subsequent job that follows is vital to their profits. If you fail, then they are out the time and effort (which is money) they put forth into training you. The best part is, this cost the tax payers ZERO dollars. Imagine if we replicated this with other industries? Student debt would plummet, would only be needed for specialized schooling such as medical doctor fields. Free market is better than government schools any day.