As Yogi Berra once said, "It's like deja vu all over again." Our government is making the exact same mistake with higher education that it made with housing. Congress is encouraging students to pursue college degrees by offering low interest rates for student loans which is resulting in students borrowing huge amounts of money to fund their college educations only to find that there is no demand for their newly acquired credentials. There is a surplus of college graduates chasing too few jobs. This coupled with President Obama and the Democrats' relentless assault on American business and no plan to jump start the economy is rapidly building to the next bubble.
As usual, Mr. Obama's timing is impeccable. Yesterday, it was reported in the press that 50% of recent college graduates either can't find a job or are underemployed i.e. accepting jobs that traditionally don't require a college degree. However, today the President gave a speech to students at the University of North Carolina about the importance of getting an education and keeping student loan rates low. Governor Romney appears to be singing a similar tune.
I am pretty well traveled as a result of my Navy career. I lived in a developing country for nearly four years and visited many others. One of my observations has been that there is a common thread in nations like Tunisia and Egypt that has caused unrest - an educated, young population, without opportunity. The lack of opportunity is a direct consequence of bad government policy. Is it any wonder that the frustration built and culminated in the Arab Spring?
Housing prices in the US collapsed when the government induced bubble burst and we are heading for a similar situation with education. We are struggling with historically high unemployment and unprecedented debt. Are our leaders oblivious to this "prefect storm" of unrest just over the horizon?
...which of course as anyone knows is a far worse outcome than an ignorant mass of unemployed males.
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