[dsugarman]

I think another huge factor is that you are making a prediction on the future value of your degree over the next 40-50 years as a 17 year old who is probably more focused on succeeding socially and sexually. You add in the student loans that may or may not be forgiven at some time in the future and the free market is not in play. Same with Healthcare, insurance clouds all free market mechanics.

I'm a huge capitalist and I think we need to be honest about where capitalism isn't working. It's always due to free market mechanics being removed from the equation by layers of obscurity. I don't know the right answer but this shit is not working

[neaanopri]

A 17 year old focusing on succeeding socially and sexually is still really incentivized to go to college! People have tons of friends and sex at even the nerdiest college.

[dsugarman]

Exactly my point, it's not a purely financial decision. It's barely a financial decision.

[__MatrixMan__]

I've been a student at my local university for 19 years now, most of that part time. Sometimes I end up with degrees, other times not. When I'm taking classes that are either too niche or too hard to be on the easiest path towards a degree, it's fantastic.

But if my wanderings take me in a direction which is on the easiest path to a degree (sometimes necessary because the things I want to take have prerequisites that I'd rather not get waived) it's like I've entered some parallel dimension where I'm the only one who is willing to engage with the content. Like wow these kids are getting nothing out of this besides a grade.

So it sounds like we agree that it's not working, though I suspect we'd disagree about how much capitalism belongs in the solution.