Mike Rowe chimed in on the college bribery scandal this week, making the case that the cost of attending college is a bigger issue in the United States.
Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were amongst dozens of parents that were charged in connection with a fraudulent college admissions scheme that involved cheating, deception, and lies.
Now, Mike Rowe, famous for his television show Dirty Jobs, is speaking out on the scandal. This isn’t the first time that Rowe has spoken on the issue on college tuition and debt. This time around, Mike is directing his frustration at the exorbitant cost of attending college, especially the elite schools that were involved with the scandal.
You don’t have to be rich or famous to believe your kid is doomed to fail without a four-year degree. Millions of otherwise sensible parents in every tax-bracket share this misguided belief, and many will do whatever it takes to get their kids enrolled in a “good school.” Obviously, those who resort to bribery are in a class by themselves, but what about parents who allow their kids to borrow vast sums of money to attend universities they can’t possibly afford? What about the guidance counselors and teachers who pressure kids to apply for college regardless of the cost? What about the politicians and lobbyists who so transparently favor one form of education at the expense of all the others? What about the employers who won’t even interview a candidate who doesn’t have a degree? Where’s the outrage?
Rowe went onto to say that the cost of tuition has little connection to the actual value of the education received. Instead, the value is based on the perceived social value of the diploma that one receives when graduating from a university or college. The problem, according to Rowe, is that society has overvalued degrees, especially from certain elite schools.
The cost of college today has almost nothing to do with the cost of an education, and everything to do with the cost of buying a credential. That’s all a diploma is. Some are more expensive than others, but none of them reflect the character of the recipient, none are necessary to live a happy and prosperous life, and none of them come with any guarantees. And yet, the pressure we put on kids to borrow whatever it takes is constant, and precisely why tuition is so costly. It’s also why we have $1.6 trillion of student loans on the books along with a widening skills gap. That’s a bigger scandal, in my opinion.
Rowe has long been an advocate for trade and blue-collar skilled jobs. In many cases, these careers can earn similar salaries to those earned by college graduates.
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on the college admissions scandal.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.