All Forum Posts by: Susan Maneck

Quote from @Jon Martin:

I have no problem with degree programs being priced relative to their cost. As for the non-resort public campuses, I imagine that if they were spartan in their services then I would assume (or at least hope) that the cost of tuition would also be lower. If not, then there is probably some administrative bloat and waste somewhere.

Yes, there is a lot of administrative bloat in state colleges and universities but there is no reason state legislatures through their boards couldn't control that without gouging the rest of the university. 

What colleges have become all too often is a factory for technocrats and the liberal arts have suffered as a result. 

The market may well determine the price of things, but I would disagree that they determine the value. I submit that a school teacher is more valuable than an engineer even though the latter may be paid more. Unfortunately the market does not always have good values. When I retired after teaching 20 years as an Associate Professor at a historically black state university in Mississippi my salary never broke 60K. Does that mean what I did was less valuable than what my colleagues did when they taught at predominantly white institutions?

I agree, however, that there should be no government backing of private loans. But campuses are hardly mini-resorts, at least none of the seven institutions of higher learning where I taught. Nor are the salaries they pay anything to write home about as I already pointed out. State universities and colleges keep raising tuition because state legislatures are contributing less and less to those institutions, leaving it to students to carry the burden. And consider this, it costs far less to educate a student in the liberal arts than it does STEM. Would it not make sense then for those students to pay half of what STEM students pay? 

The countries you are probably referring to have a much higher tax rate than we do. 

And show me the current (reputable) study that shows we can give everyone free college paid for by only the tax on their earnings.

Yep, but they also provide other services like universal health care. 
According to the College Board the average college graduate pays $7000 a year more in taxes than the average high school graduate. Over a 30 year work history that would come to $210,000. That's not quite enough to attend the Ivy League, but almost. 

Quote from @Jim Strickland:

Hi @Susan Maneck, would you like for me to send you deals in Byram when they come across my desk?

If it is stuff on MLS my property manager is also my real estate agent, but if you have some off-the market deals I might be interested in hearing about them.

 , 

Quote from @Colleen F.:

@Eric Bilderback  really?    Loan forgiveness is NOT about millennials it is about anyone being responsible for what they signed up for.   
In 2020, 13% of student loan debts in the U.S. were held by Gen Z. 11% were held by millennials while 5% were held by Gen X. (Northwestern Mutual, 2020) so not just millennials. And maybe a learning curve on borrowing..

As for opportunities you can look at college education over time. The percentage of college educated individuals doubled between 81 and now.  Not sure how much junk degrees account for that but isn't that supposed to be an opportunity that benefited millennials more than previous generations?  https://www.statibsta.com/stati...   yes, they have more debt but greater earning potential. And you are telling us that a more college educated population is not doing better financially despite what is supposed to be a key opportunity?   And the millennials who didn't go to college what about them?  they got no loan buyout and have lower earning potential then the college educated.  And we should be considerate of the fact that that they don't have the opportunities of generations past? I am not seeing it. For the most part I think their financial delay is a delay you see in marrying and house buying in the college educated.

 I value my education more I think because I paid for it. My son got some loans for college, it was part of his contribution but they won't benefit him as intended because they were "forgiven" and his brother who didn't go to college subsidized this with his taxes?  We are robbing future generations with debt.

 As for being victims of course now the federal government is doing the helicopter parenting for those whose parents didn't do it and that is right??  I ask you what are they victims of?

Do we not understand that not all kids have parents who can afford to save for their children's education. I taught for twenty years at a historically black college in Mississippi. One day a parent called me up and asked me to call on her daughter more so she would feel more engaged. I told the parent that her daughter's problem was that she hadn't bought her textbook and I would only humiliate her if I called on her. After a long pause the mother answered, "I'll try and scrape together enough money to buy her textbook as soon as I pay the light bill." These are the students we are burdening with tens of thousands of dollars in student debts. 
This idea of "junk" degrees is a bunch of nonsense in my opinion. It comes from people who think STEM degrees are the only ones that count. Technocrats are not necessarily the most well-educated people. Often they lack in basic communication skills, something that those with liberal arts degrees are much better at. And these are people who will be educating your children. 
It is the whole system that needs to be rethought. Higher education should be available to everyone who would otherwise qualify regardless of ability to pay and without having to be overburdened with debt. Most of the developed world manages to do this. The increase in tax revenues alone by the college educated alone is sufficient to pay for this. 
Okay, I'm done ranting. 

Boomer here. My generation hardly had to pay anything for our education. We may brag about "working our way" through college, but that is because it was possible to do that back then. Nowadays when even a historically black state university in Mississippi costs nearly 20K a year, how can that be done? Those who try end up failing in school, I can tell you that as a professor. It used to be that states supported their own universities and colleges and tuition was minimal. There was no tuition at state universities in California before Reagan became governor. Tuition was $600 a year when I attended the University of California and it was waived if you had an SAT score above 1100. States got out of the business of funding higher education which left more and more students having to rely on massive student loans to get by. Mind you, these are loans being handed out to teenagers barely in a position to understand what they are getting themselves into.  Yes, this student loan forgiveness is just a band aid. The real solution is to join the rest of the developed world in offering state-funded higher education to all who qualify. 

Quote from @Jim Strickland:

Jackson and surrounding areas have such affordable prices, but what areas surrounding Jackson are you finding the best deals?  I am currently seeing Pearl, MS as a great sweet spot for cash flow PLUS appreciation.  What areas are you focused on?

I still invest in South Jackson but I'm interested in properties in Byram. 

I use Katrina Hawkins who owns Dove Realty. She is also my property manager which works out well because her husband is a handiman. Her number is 601-238-3287 but Meridian is a hour and half away so I don't know that she would want to deal with properties there. 

Quote from @Sydney George:

Hey there, looking for an investor friendly title company in Mississippi that has experience with double closings and assignments. Bonus points if they're local and a small business, but not required. Many thanks in advance

If you are looking to do double-closings you are better off working with an attorney in Mississippi rather than a title company. Stephen Young in Jackson, MS does a number of those. 

Good luck because Tate Reeves just cancelled the program.