Paying up

  Are we paying for an education, or paying for the paper? It's my thinking that is what needs to be evaluated. As I watched the news this morning they were discussing student loan forgiveness. They highlighted a choir director that had taken out a loan in 1995 and is still paying on that loan. She had applied for loan forgiveness but it was rejected. Her complaint was it was a predatory loan, and she had accumulated penalties and fees. In tears, she was saying she feels forgotten and neglected. Bottom line to me however is simple, you borrowed the money, pay it back.

 It was her desire to become a music teacher and director of a choir. To gain the education and training she borrowed money to attend a university. Now, she says that loan was predatory. So, you're trying to tell me the loan company hunted you down and forced you to sign the agreement. Could it be that you took out the loan, voluntarily, to fulfill your own wishes? Could it be you sought out the company that would lend you those funds? You did fill out the application didn't you? If that company was predatory, they simply preyed upon your own vanity. Not so much different from car salesman, or any other business selling a product. You bought it.

 Setting all that aside though I ask the question, are you paying for an education, or for a piece of paper? It is certainly true that we can't get the job without the paper. That paper is supposed to be the proof that we know what we are doing. That paper proves we have the skill, training and education necessary. It is also true we could learn all of that, receive training and job skills, without attending a university. That has never been easier, more readily available today than at any time in history. Shouldn't I be able to just do it "online?" I can simply mail my test results, essays or whatever in. Many claim casting our ballots that way is perfectly acceptable, proof positive, why not the completion of a degree? But even online I have to pay a fee don't I? And, let's face it. an online degree isn't valued as much as a degree issued from a "real" college or university. And a degree issued by Backwater Community College isn't as valuable as a degree from Harvard or Yale. Those are realities.

 It's like buying a Pinto or a Rolls Royce. They are basically the same thing, an automobile. The perception however is that one is far superior to the other. It's a debate that has been raging forever. I suspect such debates began over which animal skin was superior to the other. One does cost more than the other whether it's cars , skins or degrees. Bottom line, you have to pay for it. In some fashion you have to pay for it. When it becomes free, it definitely loses its' value. I don't believe you can "buy" a product and then have an expectation that your money will be returned when you keep that product. If the product is "free" from the start, what is its' value? 

 Now I realize that I'm old. I do remember when having a high school diploma was an accomplishment. That was back in the old days when not everyone wanted to get that diploma. It's value was weighed against their choice of career. If they were going to work the family farm or some other trade often that diploma wasn't considered necessary. As a result those with a diploma were valued for that higher "education" that they held. That has changed over the years and now a two year degree holds little value in the workforce. That's a reality. Two year degrees are a dime a dozen, issued like a bus pass these days. A Bachelors is what is desired, and from a "respected" university or college. And yes, it makes a difference. You have to pay for that distinction. Remember when we would say, where did you get that, Sears and Roebuck, to indicate something was of inferior value? Yeah, it's that way with diploma's, with those papers. 

 But we ask, is it fair? Is it fair that only those that can afford to pay go to those schools? Is it fair that they have entrance exams? Apparently cheating or bypassing those exams/qualifications can get you locked up, as evidenced by the recent celebrity scandal. Should it be fair that anyone can go to any school they want for free? Would that be fair? It would certainly make every degree equally valuable wouldn't it? I mean, how would you differentiate them otherwise? Is it fair that I should have to buy a less than reliable car than someone that can finance a Rolls Royce? Forgive my loan and I can drive a Rolls too, that seems fair. Is it fair that your family owns hundreds of acres of land that they can farm, while I don't own any? Is it fair that you borrow money, receive the product, benefit from that product, and then have that loan forgiven? Can I borrow money, buy a farm, grow my crops on that farm, sell those products, and then have the loan forgiven? Does it make a difference if it is paper or land? That diploma makes the intangible a tangible marketable product.

 Education is the product, Can education truly be measured as a commodity? That's the function of that diploma isn't it? The issuing authority will influence the value of that commodity. The issuing authority does not guarantee the product. That is to say, you don't get your money back, if you are not satisfied with the product. You also don't get your money back because you no longer want to pay for the product you received. You can't return the product! It's the old adage of having your cake and eating it too, it can't be done. You have to pay for the paper if that is what you truly want. It's the only way you are going to get title to the car, to the land or to your educational achievements. That's the paper, you want it, you have to pay for it.