Comments on: Think Our Generation Has It Better Than Our Parents? http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/2003/09/11/think-our-generation-has-it-better-than-our-parents/ A premiere personal finance blog, established 2003. Within, Flexo discusses his own experiences with money, and he and other authors comment on a wide range of personal finance topics. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:42:00 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Making Our Way http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/2003/09/11/think-our-generation-has-it-better-than-our-parents/#comment-2757 Making Our Way Thu, 11 May 2006 02:59:03 +0000 http://wp.consumerismcommentary.com/?p=35#comment-2757 I'm working very hard to make sure I save up for my children's education now. If I'm lucky I'll leave enough of an estate to endow a trust for my grandchildren's education or if I've been lucky enough to pay for theirs, to endow a trust for my great grandchildren's education. Something is seriously wrong with our higher education system. I'm curious. What percentage of the population went to college 20, 30 and 50 years ago? Wasn't it a much smaller percentage. Are we now assuming that a privelege is now an entitlement? Are we confusing the economic affordability of local and community colleges with private institutions? Maybe college was NEVER affordable for the vast majority of people. Maybe many more people today attend college, whereas in the past they attended vocational schools. Look at the % of students in europe who attend vocational schools over college. Very different experience there. Perhaps the reality that college was always expensive and difficult to obtain is a scary one. On the other hand the ridiculous and highly artificial inflation of academic fees is also very scary. So is the perposterous social engineering going on in admissions departments. Sometimes I think the colleges raise their tuitions to become more unaffordable and then selectively dole out scholarships to further their own utopian social programs. good luck and have a wonderful day, makingourway I’m working very hard to make sure I save up for my children’s education now.
If I’m lucky I’ll leave enough of an estate to endow a trust for my grandchildren’s education or if I’ve been lucky enough to pay for theirs, to endow a trust for my great grandchildren’s education.
Something is seriously wrong with our higher education system.

I’m curious. What percentage of the population went to college 20, 30 and 50 years ago? Wasn’t it a much smaller percentage. Are we now assuming that a privelege is now an entitlement? Are we confusing the economic affordability of local and community colleges with private institutions?

Maybe college was NEVER affordable for the vast majority of people. Maybe many more people today attend college, whereas in the past they attended vocational schools. Look at the % of students in europe who attend vocational schools over college. Very different experience there.

Perhaps the reality that college was always expensive and difficult to obtain is a scary one.

On the other hand the ridiculous and highly artificial inflation of academic fees is also very scary. So is the perposterous social engineering going on in admissions departments. Sometimes I think the colleges raise their tuitions to become more unaffordable and then selectively dole out scholarships to further their own utopian social programs.

good luck and have a wonderful day,
makingourway

]]> By: Darren R. Sussman http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/2003/09/11/think-our-generation-has-it-better-than-our-parents/#comment-8 Darren R. Sussman Fri, 12 Sep 2003 02:13:46 +0000 http://wp.consumerismcommentary.com/?p=35#comment-8 Just think of what our friend's mother said recently....back when she got married, the average salary was 50% of the cost of the average house. Do you know anyone now who makes 50% of the cost of a house per year? I certainly don't... Just think of what our friend’s mother said recently….back when she got married, the average salary was 50% of the cost of the average house. Do you know anyone now who makes 50% of the cost of a house per year? I certainly don’t…

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