Roger Hedgecock‘s latest column explores the impact of President Obama’s policies on college students and recent graduates.
The winter hope for economic recovery has faded with a spring of renewed economic bad news. American corporations are profitable primarily from overseas operations. Jobless claims are back up. The reported unemployment rate is phony, leaving out those unemployed who have run out of their unemployment benefits.
All of this has hit college graduates hard.
According to Associated Press, “about 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed…” Some 85 percent of college graduates now move back in with their parents after graduation. Those graduates fortunate enough to find a job start at salaries that average 10 percent less than starting salaries in 2007.
Worst of all, college students and college graduates have incurred that $1 trillion of student loan debt because federal government subsidies coupled with state government budget shortfalls have driven up tuition and fees at all colleges and universities.
Since Obama was sworn in, college tuition and fees at four year institutions have surged over 25 percent. The 2008-2009 average was $6,591. The 2011-2012 average was $8,244.
So, for American college students, here’s the reality.
College costs have been driven up by government policies, budget shortfalls, union contracts and just plain greed.
