I wonder whether there's really a causal connection here- or whether, as college became more common, people who were more social attended and graduated college more frequently.
It's a good point. I can imagine some amount of selection bias at work, but there are exogenous forces that are probably playing a role as well. The decline in church attendance has disproportionately impacted the social and civic lives of noncollege Americans.
Should we conclude from this that we should push as many people through college as possible? Or is it possible to help people without degrees find economic success through alternative routes (trades and the like)? Is it less of a degree problem and more of an income problem, for as related as both of those seem to be?
The points on religion are also well-stated, as the decline in affiliation is correlating with social isolation.
Putnam determined that the greater the inequality the less connected people feel. The decline in friendships in the US tracks with ever increasing inequality. The federal minimum wage is still $7.90 / hr. It has not increased since 2009. And the last legislation that was passed to increase it was 2007. States now compete with one another and developing countries to provide the lowest wage workers.
The minimum wage in Australia is $24.10 / hr which is still low, but not as crushing as $7.90 in the US or even $15/hr which many states have increased to.
People do not have time to connect bc they are struggling to survive. Congress meanwhile conducts studies on price gouging rather than deal with the underlying problem of low wages.
The pandemic brought a sudden increase in wages as well as supply chain disruptions. The US could have weathered the latter better if wages hadn’t been so far behind livable.
Allowing housing to become a speculative asset is also not helping matters. Allowing private equity to get into energy efficiency is also having detrimental effects as they scape the subsidies off the top and leave homeowners with the cost.
Interest rates on student loans have been absurd for decades and Congress failed to address it until.
Congress could literally pick any one of these problems to solve and it would have an outsized impact on people’s lives.
If you don’t graduate with a credential (such as a doctor, Lawyer, Accountant or Advanced engineering degree) college is a scam.
Unfortunately, liberal arts degrees don’t pay like they used to.
Abundant federal money available for college tuition, Pell grants and Loans has created a “floor“ supporting price hikes by college admissions departments.
Students graduating with $100,000 in personal debt is a real thing.
Excellent piece, thank you.
I wonder whether there's really a causal connection here- or whether, as college became more common, people who were more social attended and graduated college more frequently.
It's a good point. I can imagine some amount of selection bias at work, but there are exogenous forces that are probably playing a role as well. The decline in church attendance has disproportionately impacted the social and civic lives of noncollege Americans.
Very informative.
Should we conclude from this that we should push as many people through college as possible? Or is it possible to help people without degrees find economic success through alternative routes (trades and the like)? Is it less of a degree problem and more of an income problem, for as related as both of those seem to be?
The points on religion are also well-stated, as the decline in affiliation is correlating with social isolation.
Putnam determined that the greater the inequality the less connected people feel. The decline in friendships in the US tracks with ever increasing inequality. The federal minimum wage is still $7.90 / hr. It has not increased since 2009. And the last legislation that was passed to increase it was 2007. States now compete with one another and developing countries to provide the lowest wage workers.
The minimum wage in Australia is $24.10 / hr which is still low, but not as crushing as $7.90 in the US or even $15/hr which many states have increased to.
People do not have time to connect bc they are struggling to survive. Congress meanwhile conducts studies on price gouging rather than deal with the underlying problem of low wages.
The pandemic brought a sudden increase in wages as well as supply chain disruptions. The US could have weathered the latter better if wages hadn’t been so far behind livable.
Allowing housing to become a speculative asset is also not helping matters. Allowing private equity to get into energy efficiency is also having detrimental effects as they scape the subsidies off the top and leave homeowners with the cost.
Interest rates on student loans have been absurd for decades and Congress failed to address it until.
Congress could literally pick any one of these problems to solve and it would have an outsized impact on people’s lives.
And the fact that men are less likely to have a degree now means these effects non-college educated men the hardest.
If you don’t graduate with a credential (such as a doctor, Lawyer, Accountant or Advanced engineering degree) college is a scam.
Unfortunately, liberal arts degrees don’t pay like they used to.
Abundant federal money available for college tuition, Pell grants and Loans has created a “floor“ supporting price hikes by college admissions departments.
Students graduating with $100,000 in personal debt is a real thing.