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Check out what happens around the 70s/80s, when the Department of Education/Pell grants were created:
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<p>In general, though, when the government provides people with money to do something, prices will go up. Remember the housing bubble? GSEs (Fannie and Freddie) provided people with all this money to buy houses with. Demand for houses went through the roof, and so prices soared, since the government had allowed the housing business to artificially attract capital.</p>
<p>The same thing is happening with college, and for some reason, people aren’t catching on. If the government didn’t provide grants and back loans, colleges would be forced to keep their prices low to attract students. The government programs allow schools to raise prices as high as they want, and people will always pay them. </p>
<p>Note that in industries where the government is not involved (i.e. electronics and elective surgeries) prices go down every year, as the providers use technology and innovation to increase efficiency and save their consumers money. This is what should be happening in college education - however, the government programs have removed any incentive for schools to take such actions.</p>