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In reply to the discussion: How Did College Education Become So Ridiculously Expensive? [View all]Thor_MN
(11,843 posts)Back when I started working as a chemist, most tests involving an instrument meant giving the machine a sample, pushing a button, writing down a number into a log book with a pen, then using a calculator to get the final results. Now, one loads the samples into a robotic sampler, enters the sample numbers into the computer, hits the run command and then comes back later to collect the final results. The workload capacity of labs went up so much in the 90's that there was a shakeout - too much capacity chasing too few samples.
I got out of chemistry as the environmental testing industry was collapsing. True that the computerized instruments cost more, but they allow for so much more throughput that they more than make up the cost. Technology has driven costs down.
I got government student loans with very low interest (relative to prime rate) while I was still in school. Once I was done, the interest rate went up, but was still quite good compared to the prime rate.
My nephews, on the other hand, have to get bank loans at outrageous rates, because the government student loans really don't exist any more. One nephew asked me to co-sign a loan for $2000. The bank, which turned out to be the same one I have an account at, wanted 10% interest from the first day, that being about 4 years ago. The bank was getting essentially free money from the government and they had the money sitting in my account, for which I was getting about 0.2%. They were going to be loan that to my nephew at 10% interest, giving the bank over 9.8% interest for doing almost nothing. I gave him the money, rather then let him get screwed by the bank.