The Cost of College

The cost of putting someone through college these days is enough to make one sick. At close to $50,000 a year, it is fast becoming one more thing to break the back of the back of the middle class. Many students are graduating with six-figure debts, one very efficient way to keep them in economic slavery. One wonders if that isn't part of the plan.

As middle-class parents of children fully expecting to attend college within a few years, we are keenly aware of the problem. It is a major worry with us, and we feel inadequate and unable to plan for any sort of retirement, because all our financial wherewithal will need to be diverted so some college can give our kids a fighting chance in today's vicious economic climate.

So read a terrfic book: Higher Education? by Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus. It exposes the absurdity of the inflated costs of today's colleges, and shows why we're simply not getting our money's worth for the high price tags.

The best part is, it's not just a rant. Their research is broad and deep, and they turn up insitutions with good ideas, those who are doing it right. They offer effective, simple proposals for getting us back on track. If you've got kids and are expecting to get them to an institute of higher learning, you simply MUST read this book.