When I was in college a long time ago, my econ prof said as much; that demand was inelastic and they could hike it up to $20k a semester and still fill seats.
It actually all started from an innocent place iirc. Schools wanted to give more aid to disadvantaged students after the civil rights movement, so they jacked up prices on rich kids to accommodate. Then it just sort of spun out of control
Neoliberals.
Their “logic” went something like this
College grads make more money
Therefore a degree is worth a lot of money
The fairest tax is the people making the most money pay the most returning the investment that the state put into them
I always imagine it going:
Uni admin: “They’re approving kids for how much?! Well fuck $3000 a semester, let’s triple it!”
And now universities depend on that increased revenue and there’s no simple way to roll it back.
When I was in college a long time ago, my econ prof said as much; that demand was inelastic and they could hike it up to $20k a semester and still fill seats.
It actually all started from an innocent place iirc. Schools wanted to give more aid to disadvantaged students after the civil rights movement, so they jacked up prices on rich kids to accommodate. Then it just sort of spun out of control