Interesting op-ed from Sheila Bair. I think this is a well reasoned and logical approach to the issue.

Very on point.

Yeah, again, that's a definite NO WAY from me. Not one of those plans is acceptable. These are indicators of a more wide-spread issue of entitlement and saving people from their own bad mistakes with no consequences for their decisions.

How about instead of putting taxpayers on the hook for these loans, we try to have claw backs from the colleges and universities? At least then it would be making those who benefitted from the exorbitant tuitions at least partially responsible.

I'm with MB on this one. Debt forgiveness is not the solution. That just continues to encourage the universities/colleges to charge excessive amounts for tuition. These proposals are like offering liposuction free to anyone 60 lbs overweight paid for by Joe Sixpack. Those who work hard to eat healthy and exercise would have to pay for those that have chosen to not take care of their physical health.

There are ways to approach this, but debt forgiveness simply is not fair to taxpayers. I'm currently saving for my children's education, why should I pay for someone else's? I wanted to go to a huge university, but instead went to a small in-state college because that was what I could afford.

Maybe I should just liquidate the savings and purchase myself a nice new car. Then my kids can rack up huge amounts of debt going to college, live in an expensive apartment, buy a car themselves, spend thousands on frivolous expenses and I'll let the government (aka - the taxpayers) pay for it all. They get a college education paid for by everyone else, and I essentially get a free car. Sounds fair to me.

I like an income share agreement approach. That way, a university has some skin in the game. If they don't produce graduates that can get decent jobs, they don't get much back.

Universities aren't just brick buildings. Clawback solutions are going to impact salaries most directly. Fewer people are going into education already because it just doesn't pay well enough. Teachers need to be able to feed and house their own children and hopefully send them to college one day too.

Bottom line, imho, is two-pronged.
First is the notion that everyone is entitled to everything. If you can't afford it, don't buy it and that includes a college education. The name on the sheepskin is no guarantee for a profitable future as pointed out in this article.
Second pronge is the ridiculous rise in cost of everything not just the cost of education. Fixing this is, I admit, a pipe dream. So we've come back around to living within one's means and not expecting the rest of us to bail you out when you decide to overspend, whether it's a house, too much credit card use or a college education.

Well said

I totally get that teachers are underpaid (I went to my son's school last year - 2nd grade - for a class project and those kids were insane) but does that apply to college professors as well?

College Professor Salary

The average College Professor salary in the United States is $152,817 as of October 30, 2019. The range for our most popular College Professor positions (listed below) typically falls between $72,677 and $232,956. Keep in mind that salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including position, education, certifications, additional skills, and the number of years you have spent in your profession. With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target.

Garbage in garbage out. Don't believe anything you find on the internet. Try this one and as a collage professor family, this is probably a lot closer unless you are talking about a very specialized professor, such as also a medical doctor or scientist.

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/What-Is-the-Average-Professor-Salary-by-State

I am closely acquainted with this topic from the perspective of nursing schools, due to family connections.

Frequently, college professors are paid less than their students will earn when they graduate. For example, in California, to teach at a graduate level you need to have a doctorate degree. Instructors for a master's level nursing program - who have had to obtain a doctorate in education or nursing - may get paid $80-100k. However, in the same environment, masters prepared nurses can likely get paid $120k to $150k or more. The best instructors are nurses with experience, which means they've likely taken a significant pay cut in order to teach.

Also, the unions try to keep pay levels stable across departments, which puts pressure on the nursing director trying to attract nursing instructors. Imagine what happens for med school instructors, given the same parameters?

more garbage

https://www.salary.com/articles/how-are-college-professors-paid/

let us also take into consideration that there are bank tellers at local credit unions and bank CEO's of a top 5 bank

Yeah, sorry, there's no way that I'm buying that the average pay for a college professor (unless you're considering anyone who works at a local community college with just a bachelor's degree themselves) in California is $66,445. Absolute bunk.

Sorry, that Zip Recruiter list isn't using the data from universities; they must be using every type of college that exists. In this situation, I don't think those community colleges are the ones where students walk out with $150,000 of student debt.

ed's data is a lot closer to almost all of the other average college professor salaries.

Interesting article. I am not posting this for political reasons-I am posting for the content given the recent topic in here.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/d...dnesdays-debate-2019-11-19?mod=home-page

Wow, good article TB, thank you. DEFINITELY worth a read. Amazing how stupid politicians are, both sides.

A couple notable quotes:

Anything the federal government subsidies magically becomes more expensive for all of us, but especially for those that avail themselves of this wonderful government benefit.

I can hardly wait for medicare for all.

I'm still trying to figure out how we save money when healthcare is "free"...

So am I going to use healthcare more or less when it is "free"...or at least there is no additional "cost" to me to use it?

Is this one of those things where the government proclaims something so it must be true?

You just described the insurance industry.

The distance you kept during my struggle - I'm gonna need you to double it during my success.

Very poignant DeeQ.

Thank you, Sox.

Don't get excited about college professors' salaries until you factor in the ratio of tenured or tenure-track full time professors against the number of PhD adjunct professors who get paid by the class without benefits. You may be paying top dollar tuition and getting a highly qualified PhD teaching the course, but as tenured professors retire? They're being replaced more by adjuncts than by filling the position they're exiting. That's been going on for well over a decade. The money stays at the college rather than giving a qualified professor a full-time job. To make ends meet, they adjunct at multiple colleges and end up teaching and juggling more courses than a normal full-time professor for less money and no benefits.

Saying goodbye today to my almost 17 year kitty, Sadie Lou. The sweetest girl, she will be missed.

So sorry for your loss.