“… On one level, these scams are understandable; many parents are inclined to do everything possible to help their child achieve the college dream. But 'everything possible” goes beyond "everything legal and ethical,’ and these parents crossed a line. That leads us to several problems (not the least of which is the ethics lesson being given the child–game the system any way you can).
One problem is that, when wealthy families use a guardianship scam to get scholarship money, that money is the unavailable for families that are really struggling. When a wealthy family scams a seat at a college, that’s one fewer seat available for another student who might be more deserving." …
I disagree with the title and the premise: people make unethical choices because they are unethical people–millions of families face the same college landscape without cheating, scamming, or otherwise “gaming”. To do these things is a choice because some people think they are more deserving than others.
I agree with @garland It “is pushing” them? Sure more people near the ethical fence probably jump over as costs rise, but that’s entitlement. Not what will we give up as a family to make this work, or what schools might be affordable for us other than X?
Every one of the VB kids could have gone to college. Just not the exact one their parents wanted.
I will agree there, and add the recent flurry of articles about doctor shopping for disability diagnoses.
I hear the argument all the time from folks IRL who have cash oriented businesses (a successful landscaper, high end salon, bar/restaurant) that “the tax code favors the wealthy with their off-shore accounts, exotic investments, etc.” so they are just evening up the playing field by understating their income and overstating their write-offs.
Nope. Not buying it. There are still tens of millions of Americans who file honestly, who pay every nickel they owe, and whether someone else is getting away with something illegal and unethical- not their concern. How someone can write off their 17 year old’s car as a business expense- or have their dog on the payroll (yes, the family dog-- the spouse cashes Rover’s paychecks) is beyond my paygrade. But to claim that the “system” is set up so that the only recourse is to cheat- unh unh. Cheaters gonna cheat. Liars gonna lie.
They are misguided on the disability diagnosis – it is super hard to get any help/accommodations for truly needy students on that, Been There Tried to Do that
Most people appear to have an innate sense of ethics. This is why most poor people still don’t steal, and most families desperate to send their kids to the best college they can still don’t get involved in scams. Agree with posters above, it’s not being “pushed” into anything, it’s a personal ethical deficiency.
Quite a generalization there. Crimes and/or ethical deficiencies have to have one thing in common, opportunity. If you don’t have the opportunity to commit this ethical violation due to lack of money/connections/etc. then you literally can’t commit the violation. Wealth/connections/privilege make the opportunity for abusing the system viable for some.