On the subject of student debt and cost of education here in the USA. My son started at very good engineering university. $50K US, he got a scholarship for $5K, so $45K. But I sat there listening to the school pres drone on and did the math in my head. There were about 900 in his incoming class. Granted a lot were getting more scholarship that he was but still his class was probably bringing in 30 - 40 million, and there are 3 other classes, not to mention the grad students. So conservatively about 100 Million per year. I checked the professors salaries. About 500 of them with the fulls getting 140K the asst's getting 90K. So say 100K average or about 50 million for teacher salary. Then there's all the admin staff and service staff. Building maintenance, etc, etc, etc. But the pres is probably pulling down 250 - 300K the Deans, heads of departments certainly more than the professors. So that 100 million disappears pretty quickly.
After one year my son decided he didn't want to be a scientist/engineer so he's finishing up as an English major at a state school where it's more like 10K a semester, 20 K a year.
The point being that the big cheeze's are getting payed way beyond their true value in academia and especially in business and it's driving the prices of everything up. Having all that money the rich folks want to spend it to show it off. So all the feeder companies jack their prices up so the rich will feel like they're getting something for their money. The wanabe's will pay more for the second tier goods trying to be like the rich, and so it goes. Reagan's trickle down theory actually works, just not the way he espoused it. :'D
