One of the most sustained and vigorous public debates today is about the value and, crucially, the price of college. But an unspoken, outdated assumption underlies all sides of this debate: if a young person works hard enough, they'll be able to get a college degree and be on the path to a good life. That's simply not true anymore, says Sara Goldrick-Rab. Quite simply, college is far too expensive for many people today, and the confusing mix of federal,...

"It is widely understood that student loan assistance has inflated college tuition, student debt, and lender profits. Less often recognized is that these outcomes were intended. Elizabeth Tandy Shermer uncovers the history of federal student loans, showing that they were designed to appease constituencies opposed to affordable higher education"--