When Cuts Hurt

What will it cost to go to college in the next couple years? Does it matter? College students can take out student loans. I wonder what kind of debt future college students will face when they graduate from college? Will they be forced to live with their parents or even be able to find a job?

Why so many questions about the future?

The last couple weeks the news coverage concerned the debt ceiling. "Oh, the debt ceiling is too high," cried Chicken Little(The part played by the Tea Party).

It is amazing how the debt ceiling debacle distracted Americans from the real issue of figuring ways to improve the economy. Unemployment is still too high, and too many homeowners owe more on their house than it is worth, and these issues aren't getting enough news coverage.

What are some ways we could improve the economy? We could increase government spending. But will it work?

Let us take a stroll down memory lane, or maybe just open a history book, if you aren't old enough to remember points in American history that involved increased government spending to improve the economy, but you need to ignore those annoying Republicans yelling 'Socialist.' Who wants to listen to those hypocrites talk about smaller government, anyway, when the truth is that their god, Ronald Reagan grew the federal government like it was a genetically modified crop from Monsanto.

But, what does history teach us about cutting government spending during a tough economic period? Well, Roosevelt tried that in 1937 when he cut government spending and added the Social Security tax, but he did so because he believed the economy was doing better. It is hard to say that a lot of politicians feel the economy is well enough for cuts in federal spending, but they do like their phony baloney jobs and cutting spending seems like great Newspeak.

But what about the point I wanted to make about college students and increased debt? Could this be holding back the economy? A student in debt can't buy a lot of things that might help improve the economy.

According to Studentdoc.com, about 50% of recent college graduates have at least $10,000 in student loans. Then you add the $4,100 in credit card debt that the average college senior has on top of the student loans, well, it doesn't make it easy for students to do much but give their paychecks to the banks that begrudgingly gave them loans and shinny credit cards.

The rising cost of a college education doesn't seem to concern Washington right now. But, imagine a world, yes, touchy-feely thing to do, but just imagine a world were college students don't graduate with so much debt. Imagine what they could do to get this economy going.

I know that college students bear some of the blame for taking out loans and using their credit cards, and I can't put all the blame on politicians for the high cost of a college education.

However, I can put the blame of politicians for not heeding the warnings of 1937.