Helena's Carroll College
I think there’s a lot of resentment in the world.
Unfortunately, much of this resentment is directed toward older people by younger people.
It should be directed at the rich and those in power.
What I’m getting at is the terrible situation that we put our young people in.
Back in 2010 it cost $7,600 a year to go to college…and that was just the tuition.
In 1980 it was $2,100.
We know that those graduating in 2016 have an average student loan debt load of $37,000.
Collectively as a nation we have $1.3 trillion in student loan debt.
That’s more than the $929 billion in revolving credit card debt we have (though not more than the $3.4 trillion in outstanding credit card debt we have).
So the average household has $15,000 in credit card debt but the average student has $37,000 in student loan debt.
And remember – most with credit cards have some kind of income to pay that back.
Many of our recent graduates have no jobs, or jobs that pay so low that they can barely scrape by.
According to an article by Newsweek last year, 40% of millennials are unemployed.
Unfortunately, much of this resentment is directed toward older people by younger people.
It should be directed at the rich and those in power.
What I’m getting at is the terrible situation that we put our young people in.
Back in 2010 it cost $7,600 a year to go to college…and that was just the tuition.
In 1980 it was $2,100.
We know that those graduating in 2016 have an average student loan debt load of $37,000.
Collectively as a nation we have $1.3 trillion in student loan debt.
That’s more than the $929 billion in revolving credit card debt we have (though not more than the $3.4 trillion in outstanding credit card debt we have).
So the average household has $15,000 in credit card debt but the average student has $37,000 in student loan debt.
And remember – most with credit cards have some kind of income to pay that back.
Many of our recent graduates have no jobs, or jobs that pay so low that they can barely scrape by.
According to an article by Newsweek last year, 40% of millennials are unemployed.
What’s the plan to solve this problem?
Here in Montana there is none, as we’ve come to accept the fact that young people – if they even choose to get educated here – will leave the state soon afterward.
If they don’t, instead deciding to stay and scrape by, we often pity them, for we know they’ll be sentenced to a lifetime of low wages, few if any benefits, and a near-guarantee that they’ll always be a renter, never a homeowner.
In 1980 the average price of a home in America was $76,000. In 1975 it’d been $35,000.
Here in Missoula the average housing price today is approaching $250,000.
How the hell is a millennial with tens of thousands of student loan debt and no real job prospects supposed to afford that?
Of course our money isn’t worth as much. If I wanted to buy the same amount of goods that I got in 1980 for $100 I’d need $248 today.
So there’s a lot of resentment from younger millennials at older Baby Boomers over this problem.
It might be better to direct that anger and resentment and animosity at the rich and powerful of this country that brought that situation about and keep it that way.
Alas, the media has us brainwashed to such an extent that we don’t even think about this.
Since you and most of the rest of this country aren’t going to turn off your TV anytime soon, or abandon your corporate news sources, this isn’t likely to change.
So the resentment will continue…and in time, get worse.
