I have great sympathy today for those young millenials who aspire to succeed on the “real life” monopoly game-board which seems to be increasingly stacked against them. Limited job opportunities compounded by lackluster growth in real wages is certainly discouraging, but the thing that may ultimately doom untold millions of twenty-somethings to a very bleak future is not current market trends but mountains of compounded educational debt. In fact, an entire generation is being subjected to a vast “bait and switch” scheme by those very institutions charged with helping them to successfully integrate into the larger society. And the primary perpetrators of this cruel hoax appear to be the very establishments of higher education whose stated purpose it is to prepare our youth for a future productive life. Instead, many American colleges and universities seem too busy fleecing their youthful charges to devote much concern to their long term prospects. Continue reading →