I’ve got two kids going off to college next year, and it’s sparked a lot of conversation lately with other parents about the ridiculous cost of sending kids off to a place where most of what they learn is how to party with their peers. It was getting exorbitant in the 1990s, when tuition breached 30k. Now we’re looking at a situation where, for many schools, the tuition is triple that cost.
Where Is This Going?
In a society where we keep hearing things like 10%–20% of white-collar jobs might disappear in less than five years (Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, recently made a similar suggestion on 60 Minutes), there are a lot of concerns that while the price of tuition has gone up, the value of a degree is becoming less. It appears that as AI and mass digitalization embed themselves in society, young people might have to look for more opportunities again in blue-collar fields like plumbing and electrical work. Which is probably needed anyway, since so many people want to live in new homes but can’t find an electrician or handyman to do anything on their house.
All kidding aside, I still value a college education, but the model is out of whack. An idea struck me this weekend, though, that I’d like to run by you. Recently I saw a clip of Senator Mark Kelly promoting an idea of national service for our young people, which I strongly agree with. I actually wrote about it a couple of years ago. Anyway, this past weekend, I was excited about the fact that a public servant was talking about it, and I reevaluated the problem through the eyes of someone with college-bound kids. I considered how national service could earn a young person credit in the form of college tuition. Excited about my “new idea,” I returned to my old post to see what I came up with long ago. Turns out, I already thought of it.
Time for a Different Approach
But it’s really becoming more important that we change this up for our children. Many colleges are sitting on billion-dollar endowments while claiming that in order to stay afloat, they need to raise tuition (including room and board) to almost ONE HUNDRED GRAND PER YEAR. Not in the least duplicitous, no. When families factor in travel, as well as all of the other miscellaneous expenses they’ll incur, the college experience may cost them over four hundred grand. Four hundred grand! In 1975, my parents could have bought twenty decent-sized homes for that price. What are we doing?
So let’s fix this. My vote is that we give families the option in which kids—and even parents—can perform some national service in our parks, hospitals, town works, military, schools, construction, or any other public-service format you can think of, and earn tuition credit for college. This will help middle-class people who are getting squeezed out, but also really give everyone more breathing room so society doesn’t have to be such a giant ball of stress. National service would restore national pride in the U.S.A. and give people a chance to start their lives without drowning in debt. Let’s do this.
Faithfully submitted,
Matt Larson, candidate for President of the United States in 2028
(My qualifications are that I climb mountains.)
This is SUCH a good idea, Matt — to think of how to institute a system where young people can perform national service, in exchange for tuition credits. This could work so well! You’re 100% right that the situation right now is utterly out of hand — AND that the cost of a university education now way outpaces the amount one can earn — and the jobs one can find — with a college degree in hand. Ach!!
Thanks Harriet! I don’t think people would have entertained this years ago but something tells me we might not be too far away. I think we should have national service even if there wasn’t some sort of reimbursement, but I don’t think many would vote for that! Haha! But if tuition reimbursement was tied to it, it feels like that could be a win-win for everyone.