Very good statements from a journal titled Rising College Costs Squeeze Students–And Grads

"For access to higher education, wealth is surpassing academic merit as a determining factor"

"As livelihoods hinge on more expensive education, even those students who manage to attend college are suffering destructive consequences as increasing debt loads limit their freedom. When you’re steeped in debt, you face powerful pressure to seek high-wage work. Many people who would like to work in social service or non-profit sectors find that their debt obligations effectively remove those choices"

"Many non-profits are suffering from this phenomenon. Meanwhile, corporations gain power when more people depend on maximizing income just to meet their debts"

"America likes to pride itself on being an innovative culture, but people who can’t afford to miss a paycheck are unlikely to become entrepreneurs or inventors. Funding higher education as poorly as we do today is short-sighted and ultimately will lessen prosperity for us all. (Apllies to Malaysia and many other countries as well"

"In the 1990s, some baby boomers embraced “voluntary simplicity.” By opting to earn less money, they could turn to work that was more personally fulfilling, and they could work fewer hours, allowing them to volunteer more, spend more time with their families, and live healthier lifestyles. Alas, these options are open only to those without substantial debt"

"We need to enable motivated people of modest means to attend college, not just to be a kinder nation, but to invest in our collective future. If we want all citizens to enjoy the opportunity to improve themselves and our society through higher education, then we should think of education as a social investment, not merely an individual one, and start funding it accordingly"