Think again

23 September 2010 By Martin Hutchinson

The salary differential with nongraduates has shrunk even as the cost of a fouryear university degree keeps rising. Like home ownership, education provides more than just a financial benefit. But it’s another part of the American dream that needs rethinking.

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From 2001 to 2009, the average cost of a fouryear college increased by 29 percent, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The average earnings differential between those with high school diplomas only and those with bachelors' degrees has declined by 12 percent for men and 4 percent for women over the same span, according to the Census Bureau.

Americans owed about $827 billion in revolving credit, most of which is creditcardrelated, according to June figures from the Federal Reserve. Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org, estimated student loans outstanding to be about $830 billion, in comments last month to the Wall Street Journal.

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