February 19, 2005

WRONG

This wonderful article called The Millionaire Next Door vs. the Politician in Washington hits on what I mentioned the other day.

The problem with college financial aid is that for two families with equal lifetime incomes, the one that consumes the most and saves the least gets the most financial aid.

This is the single greatest problem I noticed when I worked for the university and saw financial aid disbursement. The 25 year olds with three kids by three different fathers were the ones going to school for free. We're rewarding the wrong behavior.

Posted by Sarah at February 19, 2005 10:10 AM
Comments

And that's not the end of it. That which is subsidized always rises in price. The skyrocketing cost of a college education is directly traceable to governmental subsidy of that cost through financial aid programs.

Don't think about Medicare. Don't!

Posted by: Francis W. Porretto at February 19, 2005 12:12 PM

"Displaced homemaker" is the politically correct term.

Posted by: Bunker at February 19, 2005 04:29 PM

Kling (the author) frequently says "if you want more of something, subsidize it; if you want less, tax it". So simple, it should be the first thing out of any Senator's mouth when they debate spending bills. And this article shows it's not just limited to government.

I should know: I applied for college in 1998, and out of something like 2500 scholarships, as a white male with middle-class parents who had saved money for my tuition, I was eligible for exactly 6. 6 out of 2500, the rest for minorities and the "poor" (those who hadn't saved enough). Sad.

Posted by: James at February 20, 2005 07:18 PM