Graduation Day 40k away

The WSU board of Regents last Friday approved a 2.4 percent increase in annual tuition for undergraduates in a meeting at the Tri-Cities campus. The higher rate is slated to be in place for next semester. For the academic year, the cost pencils out at $9,953 a year for undergraduates and their families.

A WSU student who stays on track for a four-year degree at that rate will face tuition costs of close to $40,000.

That's for tuition. Food, housing, books, fees and supplies are in addition to tuition. Also, transportation costs for getting to Pullman and back are stacked on top of that.

Projected increased costs were cited as the reason for the tuition hike which reportedly is expected to generate $5 million more in revenue to operate the university.

For 18-year-old high school graduates who just walked down commencement aisles around the state, the cost seems astronomical. Those who manage to hook onto a summer job for 10 or 12 weeks could finish up the summer with maybe $3,000 at best. The job market for temporary employees without much work experience doesn't point to $10,000 in the bank by the end of the summer.

How will they do this?

Of course, the first answer is the families who bolster most freshman as they make the big move to campus. But, with higher and higher costs the question comes up again: How will families do this?

Two days later, the Associated Press came out with a story about the six-figure student loan debt owed by Pete Buttigieg and his spouse. The mayor of South Bend, Ind., Buttigieg is in the pack of Democrats who have made themselves available to serve as their party's nominee for next year's presidential race.

The story cited numbers for the student loan debt now on the books for the federal government. The unpaid sum is now $1.447 trillion owed by 43 million people.

One of the breakouts in the report noted 7.8 million people over age 50 owe the government $291.9 billion in college debt.

Among the 50-plus people who still haven't paid off could very well be parents of this June's 18-year-olds who are looking at the new $40,000 tuition price tag for a four-year diploma from Washington State University.

College debt for people in the 35 to 49 age group is $548.4 billion.

The Sunday story cites proposals by other Democratic hopefuls on how they would "solve the problem." Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts reportedly has a plan to take 75 percent of the loans off the books.

Exactly who would be holding the empty bag if 75 percent of the 43 million college debtors could be excused of paying possibly 75 percent of the debt, or $1.08 trillion?