Summary
The “diploma divide” is reshaping U.S. politics as voters with and without college degrees increasingly differ on economic priorities and political alignment.
While the net cost of college has been declining due to rising financial aid and steady government funding, skepticism about the value of higher education persists.
Working-class voters, facing inflation and economic concerns, are shifting toward Republicans, with many bypassing college for well-paying blue-collar jobs.
Declining college enrollment, particularly at lower-income institutions, reflects broader cultural and economic trends impacting political realignment and perceptions of higher education.
Nbcnews linked to a report by the college board, that look like it tracls the relative cost of college all the way back to 1994 - - ten years after Regan’s fuckery, and at least 20 yeara too short to show a real drop. And the drop they show is over only about 4 years.
Today’s students were raised by a generation who lived through crippling debt, and see no reason not to expect tuition to skyrocket over the nexr few years.
Not to mention “tuition and fees” ignores the absurd cost of housing.