GREETINGS,
IF EDUCATION IS WHAT CIVILIZES US AND IS THE PILLAR OF ANY CIVILIZED SOCIETY, AND IT IS, THEN WHEN THE HALLS OF CIVILIZATION AND THE CITIZENS OF THAT CIVILIZATION ARE BURDENED WITH UNPAYABLE DEBTS AND MASSIVE DEBT OBLIGATIONS THAT THEY CANNOT AFFORD, YOU BEGIN TO SEE THAT VERY CIVILIZATION AND THE PEOPLE THAT BELONG TO IT, ARE HEADED FOR A GREAT DESASTER OF UNTHINKABLE PROPORTIONS.
….” The plague of Allah (God) against the educational system of America is something that the philosophers and scientists should look into, as the destruction of America’s education is the destruction of their wisdom to educate the people.
There are many who look on the destruction without taking a second thought of the destruction without taking a second thought of the destruction of America’s education. Education is a guide for the people to keep and maintain a civilized life. It is education that civilizes us.“–pg.92(TFOA)
SO AS WE SEE THESE THING HAPPEN, WE MUST KNOW THAT THE TIME FOR AMERICA’S FALL HAS NOW COME. I THINK THAT THIS IS A GREAT SHOW OF POWER BY GOD IN PERSON AS HE REMOVES THE PRESENT CIVILIZATION….” The destruction of America’s educational system is the best thing that Allah (God) could do to get rid of that which you depend on for guidance. America’s educational system has never benefited you and me, only to keep us slaves to the white man. We the Black people want an educational system that will bring us into unity as a man before Allah (God). We want an educational system that we can read in the light of ancient or modern history. We want an educational system that will guide us through tomorrow – not an educational system that is dying today. What hope can you have in a world that is crashing and burning asunder as America is? Do you think that we will be here, and that you will go back like you were before the war? I say you wait and see.”–pg.97(TFOA)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way. ~ Charles Dickens
We are in a time of crisis, a time of austerity, a time the where poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer at a faster pace than at any other time in recent US history. We have gone from having a well-functioning economy to a real unemployment rate of 14.5% [1]. During all of this, the situation has greatly affected college students, who are taking on massive debt just to further their education. With student debt at over $1 trillion, an examination is underway of how we have gotten into this scenario and how we can get our way out of it.
focused on a study which revealed that one out of six students who took the National Merit Scholarship test in high school did not attend college. Of the students who did not attend college and who had families who could contribute only $300 or less to their education, about 75 percent of the men and 55 percent of the women indicated that they would have attended college if they had had more money available. [2] (emphasis added)
Upon seeing this information, Johnson was shocked as he viewed the situation as a loss in human capital. This drove him to sign the the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 1965 into law. The bill included the recommendations put forth by the Gardener taskforce that the federal government should aid student in their journey to attain a higher education by providing loans, remedial classes, and grants to college-aspiring students as well as special programs and projects for low-income students who have an interest in attending college. This allowed for low-income and middle-class students who have an opportunity to go to college.
There was an uphill battle, though, as the American Bank Association was against the loan guarantee provision. The ABA was mainly concerned about possible government encroachment in their business, arguing that “the federal government could not replicate the working relationships that locally-owned financial institutions had with state and private non-profit guarantee programs” and “the federal government would end up taking over the industry because there would be little incentive for the state and private non-profit agencies to establish their own programs.” [3] To solve this problem, the Johnson administration met with the ABA and worked to “[assure] the bankers the loans would pay them back handsomely over time because they were investing in young people who would become their best customers in the future,” [4] as well as telling the banks that the government would be the ultimate loan guarantor if there was no one else available. Thus, with the banks placated, the bill could be passed.
There were several reauthorizations of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, but one of the most important reauthorizations was in 1972. In the 1972 bill, there were several new programs created, yet one of the most important ones was the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant which sends “a payment directly from the federal government to undergraduate students based on their financial need,” yet this act also “tied institutional aid to the number of students receiving federal student aid at the given institution.” [5] Tying institutional aid in this manner only served to increase costs. According to the Bennett hypothesis, first proposed in the 1980s by Secretary of Education William J. Bennett, colleges absorb federal student aid by increasing tuition costs. (This was proven in a paper done by two economics professors at the University of Oregon. [6]) While these increases in tuition were not seen in the 1970s, they began to be felt substantially during the 1980s, thus causing students to increase their debt levels. However there was another factor involved that led to student debt increase: President Ronald Reagan.
cut deeply into the two major student assistance programs, the Pell grants and the Guaranteed Student Loans, to reduce sharply or eliminate a series of categorical programs in higher education, and to eliminate a group of social or economic programs which either directly or indirectly affect higher education. With rare exception, every college campus would be affected by the proposed cuts beginning in academic year 1981-82. [7] (emphasis added)
Thus, by the very circumstances, a situation of ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ is created and students are put into de facto debt slavery.