Argument Counter Argument
Much of the debate going
against higher education being a sound investment focuses on the debt that
would be accrued if things do not go as planned after graduation and that there
are better things to do with the money that would be spent on tuition. An article written by Sarah Kaufman
highlights these points as they are argued by prestigious individuals in the
field of investments. I find that many
of these ideas focus around the more affluent and would not apply to the
general public as they accrue much more risk and families without the extra
income to spend could be left in an even worse spot. One interviewee claims, “"You've been fooled into thinking there's
no other way for my kid to get a job .. or learn critical thinking or make
social connections," says hedge fund manager James Altucher. Altucher,
president of Formula Capital, says he sees people making bad investment
decisions all the time — and one of them is paying for college” (Kaufman).
His views on this issue appear misguided judging that he is already in a
position of power and has plenty of connections that he could pass onto his
children in order for them to acquire their first job. For families of lower or middle class, they
might not have these connections and the network their university provides
would play an important role in moving up the social ladder for their
children. Altucher also looks at
investing the money elsewhere, “There's a billion other things you could do with your money,"
Altucher says. One option: Invest the money you'd spend on tuition in Treasury
bills for your child's retirement. According to Altucher, $200,000 earning 5
percent a year over 50 years would amount to $2.8 million.(Kaufman). Not only does the average family not have an
immediate 200k of disposable income, this money would have to sit untouched
while the average million extra earned can be reinvested to yield returns as
well as continuing to gain the increased income from the college degree. Depending
on the choice of major this could be as much as omitting an extra 23k a year.
“First, in the 50th percentile the annual earnings for high school
graduates are about 34k, compared with 57k for bachelor’s degree holders”
(Oreopoulos 46).
In terms of unemployment it is argued that the decrease
in unemployment is not sufficient for the price of college. “But this year, with unemployment at 9.6
percent, unemployment for college grads has risen in far greater proportion, to
4.9 percent. In other words, it is more than half the rate for the general
population” (Kaufman). While almost half
the risk of unemployment seems significant there is also statistics of
unemployment rates during economic turmoil that support gaining a bachelor’s
degree. According to the Bureau of labor
statistics between the years of 2008 and 2009 unemployment for workers with
less than a BA went from 11% to 16% while unemployment for workers with a BA or
higher went from 5% to 7% and the peak of unemployment for BA or higher never
passed 10% while less than a BA was almost 20%.
This is a significant difference in employment and shows that the
marketability for a degree is still high and will help ensure employment during
downturns in the economy which are inevitable.
Source for counter argument:
Sarah, Kaufman. "Is a college education worth the big
bucks?; Some experts say it's a bad investment." Winchester
Star, The (VA)10 Sept. 2010: NewsBank. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment