In your Little Brown Handbook there is an essay called "Student Loans," for which you will write a one-paragraph summary. This is an exercise in concision and also to practice writing your summary. You might think about performing this exercise prior to writing your summary of "Please Give Me Your--Divided--Attention."
Replies by Friday: on page 152 of the LBH, there is a list of key elements for writing a summary. Note one area where the poster has succeeded, and one area where the poster could improve on his/her summarizing skills. Please be as specific and professional as possible.
Guess I will be first.
ReplyDeletePolitics and Economics go hand in hand. When there is not enough of something, the supply is scarce, and when there is something scarce, politicians attempt to resolve the issue. They do this by attempting to give those in want of what is scarce more of it. Millions of people go into debt to receive a higher education. What follows? A cry for help and the politicians running to their aid.
Is the burden of debt caused by student loans as hard to bear as politicians and college graduates make it seem? No. With the average debt from student loans being lower than that of a car loan and percentages mirroring the same, what is the big deal? A college education lasts a life time while the life of a vehicle is finite. Where is the cry for help and aid of politicians there?
Student loans used to be more regulated and only given to those who may need it; making under double the average income of the time. These low interest rate loans gave those individuals a better chance at a higher education with low cost, while leaving the wealthy to deal with their education on their own. Even the cut offs set for government student loans has been diminished. This allowed anyone and everyone to receive them, changing the game. The well-off could use their child’s education savings for another purpose by investing it for a higher interest rate, and when the time came, take out student loans with a low interest, pay it off, and still have a gain from the original savings.
One with a college education’s pay rises over time, their debts get smaller, and percentages as well. Even if their parents weren’t paying it off, they still could afford to pay it off one way or another. The media and politicians distort the truth and reality of this “hardship” for college graduates. When in reality the hardship is on those who don’t make it through all their college, still owe a large sum, and don’t have a decent enough of an income to pay it off in time. Unfortunately, the use and blowing up of student loans is using tax payer dollars to help those who aren’t really in need, and boost the cost of education, and teacher salary. The media and congress continue to push this “societal issue” and more and more tax payer money goes out. The true questions, when will the regulation come back? Where will this unnecessary national expenditure halter?
First, the good. I think you knew exactly the point the author was getting across and you have gotten the point of the essay across as well. Now, for the bad. The biggest things I see is that the summary seems a little long and with multiple paragraphs. That could be just a problem with typing the summary here but does seem like there are four paragraphs. The other thing I see, you seemed to use a lot of text from the article and didn't use quotations with it. That's my two cents. You have a good way of writing and know how to get points across.
DeleteThanks Adam! After submitting it and reading your comment, I realized there was some stuff I definitely need to work on. Especially making a summary more like a summary without going too deep into detail. I now have a goal and something to base my progress off of.
DeleteEven though politics and economics rarely converge in a pleasant way, they are intertwined nonetheless. One of the main things to know about economics is the definition of scarcity, and how it is ever-present. There will never be enough of anything to make everyone comfortable; perhaps that is the scariest thing of all. Politicians choose to disregard that fact and find money in all sorts of places – be it ethical or not. One of the biggest clashes of economics and politics is concerning student loans. Many students graduate from college greatly in debt, generally slightly less than the price of a midgrade car. Sowell poses the point, that even though this sounds like a very high amount, you must replace cars every ten years or so, whereas an education lasts a lifetime. However, taxpayers end up bearing the brunt of these staggering costs, even for students who aren’t really all that serious about school. When considering the opportunity cost, one must ask: is it worth it?
ReplyDeleteYou have a good sense on what Mr. Sowell was trying to get across and you know how to word things that are pretty easy to follow. The bad on this summary, that I can see, is you used almost half talking about the government interference in economics. Didn't leave a lot of room to talk about the situation involving student loans. Otherwise, good flow with the summary.
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ReplyDeleteThe problem with politicians is their attitude towards economic policies. Congress should not "come to the rescue" (Sowell 148) for those seeking college loans or have trouble with repayment. The majority of student loan debt has come from congress allowing higher income families to access these loans. Between the income to payback ratio and the value of college, the debt incurred is low. Those who "welsh" (Sowell 148) are typically less serious and drop out. However, the large number of applicants encourages politicians to increase federal subsidies. this costs the tax payers resources.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading reading your summary. I think you hit all the main points in the essay, but could possibly extend more on those points. (Something I need to work on as well)
DeleteIn Thomas Sowell’s essay, he clearly has a strong opinion about student loans. Mr. Sowell believes that if a person takes out any student loans, there should be no government assistance for the student to repay the loan. Student loan interest rates are a lot lower than any other loans that a person can take. Therefore, he believes that with the loan interest so low, there should be no help or assistance from Mr. and Mrs. John Q Taxpayer. He even states that “we would be fools to keep on writing blank checks for them.” As the average pay for a college graduate is higher than someone who does not receive a college education, then that graduate has more money to pay for student loans. Mr. Sowell also states that the lower income grads that have problems paying for loans is where the “heart-rending stories” come from and are not typical. He also believes that these people should receive no help either as most in this category are students who did not finish and dropped out of college. Mr. Sowell thinks that this group of people has been irresponsible by taking out the loans and by dropping out of college. Therefore, they should not receive any help either. Personally, I believe that this author has a very narrow view of the situation and that times have changed, we do need to take a look at the rising cost of college education, and determine if the students are actually getting their full money’s worth.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Thomas Sowell politicians discovered many college students are graduating with a high amount of debt. The average debt is between 7,000 and 9,000, depending on the choice of school. Graduates have ten years to repay their loans and as their salary increases their loan payments become less than a 10 percent loss in their income. The soaring rate in student loans are caused by those taking advantage of government/ taxpayers money when they don't need it. Sowell argues government subsidies and loan programs make it possible to use the societies resources at low cost to themselves. This rise in "need" then leads to the rise in tax money coming in to amend the rising cost of tuition, to in turn pay the professors more for doing less.
ReplyDeleteSeems like you got everything out of the essay, if you could elaborate a bit more with each point, but less than I did, I think it would be spot on.
DeleteI think the author is more cynical than narrow-minded, but do agree
ReplyDeletethat the times are different now and the amount owed by students has almost tripled.
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ReplyDeleteIt’s difficult to read this essay without sensing an air of cynicism, of course not without due cause, considering the government is involved. The author exemplifies the fact that though initially started with good intentions to help those less fortunate, the present student loan system has morphed into a white elephant. Politicians clamoring for more funding and the more affluent taking advantage of interest rates only exacerbates a system in dire straights. Though this piece is dated, its message still resonates today; considering student loan debt exceeds personal debt and the interest rates are set to double unless Congress acts. As with other government programs that have taken on a life of their own, there is a glimmer of hope that this ship will right itself and provide for those that really need it as it was intended.
ReplyDeleteI love the elevated language in your post, but I feel like it was more of an opinionated piece rather than a summary. GREAT word choice though.
DeleteThe government should not continue freely handing out loans for higher education. With little to no care as to who is receiving the loan, is not only hurting the taxpayers, who are the source of the funding, but also diluting the education the student is receiving. The ease of access to government backed loans is allowing most secondary education institutions to raise tuition costs, but also has professors getting paid more to do less which cycle back to the main issue of students graduating with a high amount of debt.
ReplyDeleteI agree, maybe if the government stopped handing out loans to everyone then maybe tuition costs would go down and we would receive a better education.
DeleteThomas Sowell talks about his concerns with the increasing debt of student loans and how politicians act concerned, but then try to pawn off these debt solutions to the government, so they can use the taxpayers hard earned money. Instead the government changed their restrictions on government programs to allow a person with any income to be able to get student loans at a low interest rate. This allowed people who were not serious about getting a college education to take out these government loans and then drop out of college and not pay back the loans. When this happens it then increases the federal aid amount needed to get a higher education which also allows colleges to increase tuition and pay professors more money to do less.
ReplyDeleteYour summary explains a very detailed point of view of what Sowell firmly believes in. He has a strong opinion against the participation of the Government associated with student loans.
DeleteWhen it comes to financial aid for education,politicians seem to ignore the fact that there just isn't enough to go around. However they want to appear as though they are there to help out. When a person with any income is allowed to receive assistance, it can cause more issues. Some individuals that are not serious about college education, will quickly drop out and not pay their loan. This simply just causes the debt to keep rising. The average debt of a college student is made out to be a huge burden, when in fact it is usually less than the payment for a car. With the income a college student will likely receive, why shouldn't they be expected to pay it off? As a result of this, professors are paid more to do less, which presents yet another problem.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I probably should do that. I always have a hard time knowing when to end a summary.
DeleteAccording to Thomas Sowell’s “Student Loans”, this short essay briefly explains the scarcity between economics and politics regarding students’ loans. Throughout politics, politicians have constantly complained about how much the average student is in debt after graduating from college. Sowell presents strong opinions on how the government should not take part in college education. Evidently, through Sowell’s research he believes a typical student from a public university owes no more than $7,000 and a student enrolled to a private university or college owes around $9,000. Where is the “huge debt” that politicians claimed many college students have? Is it really a cover-up for taxpayers to take over the debt that could increase college tuition and cause teachers ‘pay increase for doing little to no work? In my opinion, I believe that times have changed and we as society cannot think this narrow-minded. Sowell failed to realize that a student that drops out of college is not necessarily irresponsible for this action. Many situations could occur where students have no control of dropping out. Do they not deserve government aid? Also, what about students who cannot receive financial aid and only qualify for loans are they not deserving too? Mr. Sowell is not helping the situation that may be at stake he is complaining about a situation that can be fixed.
ReplyDeleteSeems more about your opinion of the matter than summarizing the article.
DeleteWhile looking to help voters, politicians end up hurting the very people who fund them (taxpayer). Using the example of student loans the author discusses how there was once a cutoff to determine who could borrow, only now with the cutoff eliminated the flood gates have opened for many people to borrow taxpayer funded low-interest loans.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a good job getting the main point across. Maybe you could go a little more in depth about what happens. Good summary though!
DeleteI agree, you did great with the main point but there wasn't much to back it up. A couple more sentences to explain the authors point a little more would be nice.
DeleteThomas Sowell’s essay, Student Loans, describes the ridiculousness of the government bailouts that take money from various sources to help the greediness of individuals wanting more. Sowell explains how asinine it is to have financial deficits towards and education, when a college education is less expensive than buying a new car. Unlike a car loan, student loans give the college graduate a lower interest rate and longer time for repayment, and the knowledge which will never be taken away. The government should not be in debt because, an education promises an increased potential earning as the reward. many situations can effect the financial deficit to the government. Despite the income bracket, a student that does not successfully complete their education adds to the governments debt.
ReplyDeleteIn the essay, ”Student Loan”, the author talks about different scenarios how politician arrive at the point of taking taxpayers dollars for free and targeting different social economical groups for political gain. The author also goes into detail about how students should be paying off a loan instead of waiting on the government to bail them out. The author lays out different opinions about how to resolve such loans and interest rates. The author really expresses how he feel by using the analogy, “Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.”
ReplyDeleteIn your summary there seems to be the perfect coverage of the points made in Sowell's essay. We learned about author tags tonight so you probably recognize their missing in your piece. Its a nice length paragraph with a concise feel.
ReplyDeleteIn Thomas Sowell's Essay "Student Loans" the point he wants to get across is that when politicians take money from some, such as the taxpayers, to help someone else, students with college loans, it's creating a bigger problem out of a small one. Sowell is saying that politicians are using a small issue like the debt of graduates to get the taxpayers to help them so the politicians look like they are fixing something when really the huge amounts of debts that college students isn't a problem. Most college graduates can pay it off by the ten year deadline. So by having the government and taxpayers pay for it all we are doing it making things harder on them.
ReplyDelete“Student Loans” by Thomas Sowell. The author is disgusted how student loans have come to the current point in the United States. He claims the political system is involved in students becoming deep in debt by loans through the government with high interest. He mentioned 35 years ago the government didn’t approve loans for students from high incomes but only approved loans for students from low incomes. Today, high and low income students are approved for loans. This allows high income students to save their money by using taxpayer’s money. Sowell was also disgusted that colleges have raised their tuition in the last 40 years. As the author points out, there is a conflict between the economics and politics of student loans. Economics tells us that money is limited. Politics tells us to give the people what they want. The author is disappointed that students of all levels of income are getting what they want versus the students who need it.
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