The feel-good story of the past week has got to be the pledge by billionaire Robert F. Smith to pay off the student loans of the graduating class at Atlanta’s Morehouse College. It’s important on many levels. It’s not just about a wealthy man “giving back.” The benefactor billionaire in this case is black; the beneficiaries are students at a traditionally black college.
By now you have heard all the late-night TV jokes about the pressure this has put on other famous or wealthy people invited to speak at graduation ceremonies, who are all going to feel like pikers, and how picky the schools will be about courting speakers for next year. And then there are some serious critics, who say that students shouldn’t have to depend on angel benefactors to take care of their burdensome loans. It doesn’t seem fair to other students still bound by loans, or who had to pay them back in the past, and some of the lucky ones may actually feel guilt about their good fortune. But I say, thanks to Mr. Smith for setting the example. Helping even one is better than helping none.
In a related gesture, NYU last year announced the elimination of tuition for students entering its medical school, thanks to the generosity of its trustees and alumni.
Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren has put forward a plan to tax the super-rich so that millions of students would have their loans forgiven and public colleges would be tuition-free. Whether you agree with the concept or with her numbers or not, it’s an idea that may be largely responsible for putting her among the top-tier candidates for 2020. It has taken a while, but the financing of college education is officially a thing now.
There’s a lot of talk about investing in infrastructure, like roads, bridges, pipelines, etc. Now we have started the conversation about investing in human infrastructure – the people who can learn how to design all these things, create new technologies, and maybe even cure disease or help us all deal with climate change. College may not be for everyone, but we have the opportunity now to figure out how to make it accessible to those who could really benefit from it. It’s a benefit all of us could share in.
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