<p>Um, at least in the local media in the Midwestern states where I still have family, the University Regents very much are portrayed as big, bad corrupt crony capitalists pushing education out of reach of the poor and middle class. They like too many banks and (yes) big bad corporations and Wall St. tycoons see aspiring Americans as cash cows to milk dry. They’re all crooks IMHO, and the punishing interest and fee payments on students really do amount to near-usury and are well beyond reason.</p>
<p>I was lucky enough to graduate decades ago with almost no debt, but I’m a teacher today and the kids in my classes have it 100,000X worse. Most of my best students tend to be motivated but from poorer families, and even after working very, very hard in campus jobs and outside employment, going to public schools, majoring in useful fields like computers or accounting or something similar, they wind up racking up tens of thousands in debt because the system really is rigged against them. They’re screwed whether they do or don’t, because without those four-year degrees, practically any employer would throw their application in the garbage can and they’re not well connected enough to do otherwise, so massive college debt is practically unavoidable to get training in the sorts of technical fields that, at least historically, have provided jobs. Their major sin is being born not rich, I guess.</p>