How college loans exploit students for profit | Sajay Samuel

翻译人员: Ke Ding 校对人员: Tingting Zhong

Today 40 million Americans are indebted for their passage to the new economy.

现在，四千万美国人为了奔小康而背上债务

Too poor to pay their way through college,

穷到无法支付自己的大学学费，

they now owe lenders more than one trillion US dollars.

这些人的负债总额已超过一万亿美元。

They do find what jobs they can get

的确，他们能找到工作

to pay off a debt that is secured on their person.

来偿还以个人名义担保的债务。

In America,

在美国，

even a bankrupt gambler gets a second chance.

即使是破产的赌徒也有重来的机会。

But it is nearly impossible

但是一个美国人

for an American to get discharged their student loan debts.

想要还清其助学贷款却几乎是不可能的。

Once upon a time in America,

以前在美国，

going to college did not mean graduating with debt.

上大学不意味着要负债毕业。

My friend Paul's father graduated from Colorado State University

我的朋友保罗，他的父亲 在退伍军人法案的帮助下，

on the GI Bill.

从科罗拉多州立大学毕业了。

For his generation,

他那个时代，

higher education was free or almost free,

高等教育基本上是免费的，

because it was thought of as a public good.

因为当时高等教育被认为是一种公益事业。

Not anymore.

现在不是了。

When Paul also graduated from Colorado State University,

当保罗也从 科罗拉多州立大学毕业时，

he paid for his English degree by working part-time.

他是通过兼职才拿到了他的英语学位。

30 years ago,

30年前，

higher education tuition was affordable, reasonable,

高等教育的学费定价合理， 大多数人都能支付得起，

and what debts you accumulated, you paid off by graduation date.

你欠下的债务在毕业的时候也能还清。

Not anymore.

现在就不可能了。

Paul's daughter followed in his footsteps,

保罗的女儿遵循父辈的足迹 （也去了科罗拉多大学），

but with one difference:

有一点不同的是，

when she graduated five years ago,

五年前，她毕业的时候

it was with a whopping debt.

就背负了巨大的债务。

Students like Kate have to take on a loan

像凯特那样的孩子只能贷款

because the cost of higher education has become unaffordable

因为高等教育的费用

对于大多数家庭来说都难以承受。

for many if not most American families.

But so what?

但那又怎样呢？

Getting into debt to buy an expensive education

如果将来可以赚更多的钱来还债，

is not all bad if you could pay it off

现在借钱来读书

with the increased income that you earned from it.

But that's where the rubber meets the road.

但是事实上，

Even a college grad earned 10 percent more in 2001

2001年的毕业生

都比2013年毕业的她收入多出10%

than she did in 2013.

So ...

所以，

tuition costs up,

学费越来越贵，

public funding down,

公共资金支持越来越少，

family incomes diminished,

家庭存款越来越少，

personal incomes weak.

个人收入越来越低。

Is it any wonder that more than a quarter of those who must

所以这也难怪为什么有四分之一的学生

cannot make their student loan payments?

肯定没有办法还清他们的助学贷款了吧。

The worst of times can be the best of times,

最坏的时代也可能是最好的时代，

because certain truths flash up in ways that you can't ignore.

因为你无法忽视很多血淋淋的真相。

I want to speak of three of them today.

我今天想说三点。

1.2 trillion dollars of debts for diplomas

1.2 万亿的助学贷款债务

make it abundantly obvious

非常明显地证明了

that higher education is a consumer product you can buy.

高等学位已经变成了 可以购买的消费品。

All of us talk about education just as the economists do now,

与经济学家一样，我们把教育

as an investment that you make to improve the human stock

看成是一种通过培训

by training them for work.

来提升人类的投资。

As an investment you make to sort and classify people

是一种将人排序分类从而

so that employers can hire them more easily.

帮助雇主挑选人才的投资。

The U.S. News & World Report ranks colleges

美国新闻与世界报道对大学进行排名，

just as the consumer report rates washing machines.

就像顾客为洗衣机排名一样。

The language is peppered with barbarisms.

往往措辞犀利

Teachers are called "service providers,"

教师们被称为“提供服务者”，

students are called "consumers."

学生们则是“消费者”。

Sociology and Shakespeare and soccer and science,

社会学、莎士比亚、足球和科学

all of these are "content."

所有这些都是“(商品的)内容”。

Student debt is profitable.

学生贷款是有利可图的，

Only not on you.

但不是通过学生来实现利润

Your debt fattens the profit of the student loan industry.

你的债务则增加了学生贷款市场的利润。

The two 800-pound gorillas of which --

两大学生贷款供应商

Sallie Mae and Navient --

Sallie Mae and Navient

posted last year a combined profit of 1.2 billion dollars.

去年一共赚取12亿美元。

And just like home mortgages,

就像房贷一样，

student loans can be bundled and packaged and sliced and diced,

学生贷款也可以捆绑或分割

and sold on Wall Street.

并在华尔街出售。

And colleges and universities

那些投资于证券化贷款的

that invest in these securitized loans

大学和学院

profit twice.

便可从中获利两次，

Once from your tuition,

首先是从你缴纳的学费

and then again from the interest on debt.

然后再从债务利息中获利。

With all that money to be made,

有如此可观的利润，

are we surprised that some in the higher education business

那么一些高等教育企业

have begun to engage in false advertising,

开始打虚假广告，

in bait and switch ...

通过引诱或偷换概念

in exploiting the very ignorance that they pretend to educate?

来剥削那些毫不知情的， 这些企业假装去“培养”的学生，

就毫不稀奇了

Third:

第三，

diplomas are a brand.

学位是一种品牌。

Many years ago my teacher wrote,

许多年前我的老师写到

"When students are treated as consumers,

“当学生被当成消费者，

they're made prisoners of addiction and envy."

上瘾和嫉妒就会应运而生。

Just as consumers can be sold and resold upgraded versions of an iPhone,

商家可以不断将最新款的iPhone卖给消费者，

so also people can be sold more and more education.

学校也可以向人们兜售教育。

College is the new high school,

大学是新的高中。

we already say that.

我们早已深知这点。

But why stop there?

但是我们就此停止吗？

People can be upsold on certifications and recertifications,

人们想考取证书、认证新的证书

master's degrees, doctoral degrees.

取得硕士、甚至博士学位。

Higher education is also marketed as a status object.

高等教育是一种地位象征。

Buy a degree,

购买一个学位，

much like you do a Lexus of a Louis Vuitton bag,

与买一辆雷克萨斯轿车或一个路易威登包一样，

to distinguish yourself from others.

都能彰显你的与众不同。

So you can be the object of envy of others.

这样你就可以成为别人羡慕妒忌的对象。

Diplomas are a brand.

文凭是一种品牌。

But these truths are often times hidden by a very noisy sales pitch.

然而这些真相通常都被嘈杂的商业宣传所掩盖。

There is not a day that goes by

每一天都有一些讲政策的人

without some policy guy on television telling us,

在电视上说：

"A college degree is absolutely essential

”拥有大学学位是

过上中产阶级的生活的必需品“

to get on that up escalator to a middle-class life."

And the usual evidence offered is the college premium:

通常此言论的证据是大学溢价：

a college grad who makes on average 56 percent more than a high school grad.

大学毕业生的收入平均 比高中毕业生的收入高出56%

Let's look at that number more carefully,

让我们更仔细地看一下统计数据。

because on the face of it,

因为这和我们平时听到的版本不太一样

it seems to belie the stories we all hear

about college grads working as baristas and cashiers.

我们通常听到的是大学毕业生 在咖啡店打工或是做收银员

Of 100 people who enroll in any form of post-secondary education,

每一百名受过中学后教育的人中，

45 do not complete it in a timely fashion,

有45名学生未能及时毕业，

for a number of reasons, including financial.

原因各一，也包括经济因素

Of the 55 that do graduate,

而在55位顺利毕业的人当中，

two will remain unemployed,

2位将找不到工作、

and another 18 are underemployed.

18位的才华得不到充分施展。

So, college grads earn more than high school grads,

大学毕业生的确比高中毕业生挣得更多，

but does it pay for the exorbitant tuition

但这真的能支付高昂的学费、

and the lost wages while at college?

抵消大学时期本可用来工作的收入吗？

Now even economists admit

现在经济学家甚至都承认

going to college pays off for only those who complete it.

只有对能完成学业的来说， 大学才是值得的。

But that's only because high school wages have been cut to the bone,

但这仅仅是因为几十年来，

高中毕业生的工资少的可怜。

for decades now.

For decades,

几十年来，

workers with a high school degree

拥有高中学历的人们

have been denied a fair share of what they have produced.

无法按劳取酬。

And had they received as they should have,

如果他们得到了自己应有的报酬，

then going to college would have been a bad investment for many.

那么对许多人来说， 上大学不是个划算的事儿。

College premium?

我想，大学溢价其实是

I think it's a high school discount.

高中折价。

Two out of three people who enroll are not going to find an adequate job.

三分之二的大学生并不能找到适合的工作。

And the future, for them, doesn't look particularly promising --

前景也并不光明，

in fact, it's downright bleak.

甚至是彻底的灰暗。

And it is they who are going to suffer

而正是这些大学生们，

the most punishing forms of student debt.

他们将承担助学贷款的重担。

And it is they,

正是这些大学生们，

curiously and sadly,

好奇又有些可悲地，

who are marketed most loudly about this college premium thing.

大肆宣扬大学溢价。

That's not just cynical marketing,

这样的市场营销不仅是讽刺的，

that's cruel.

更是残酷的。

So what do we do?

那么我们应该怎么做呢？

What if students and parents treated higher education as a consumer product?

如果学生和家长把高等教育看成消费品怎么样？

Everybody else seems to.

其他人都是这样看待的

Then, like any other consumer product,

然后，就像其他的消费产品一样，

you would demand to know what you're paying for.

你会想要知道你到底购买了什么产品。

When you buy medicines,

当你购买药物的时候，

you get a list of side effects.

商家会标出一系列的副作用。

When you buy a higher educational product,

当你购买高等教育这个产品时，

you should have a warning label

学校也应该设置提示标语，

that allows consumers to choose,

以供消费者选择，

make informed choices.

从而理性购物。

When you buy a car,

当你买汽车时，

it tells you how many miles per gallon to expect.

汽车经销商会告诉你每加仑油 可以行进的英里数。

Who knows what to expect

比如，就学位来说，

from a degree say, in Canadian Studies.

谁都不知道“加拿大研究”能带来什么呢。

There is such a thing, by the way.

这仅只是一个例子而已。

What if there was an app for that?

如果有一个专门的应用呢？

One that linked up the cost of a major to the expected income.

应用将专业的花费和估计的收入联系起来，

Let's call it Income-Based Tuition or IBT.

取名为收入基准学费或IBT。

One of you make this.

在座的就做过类似app。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Discover your reality.

评估你的现实条件。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

There are three advantages,

根据收入决定学费

three benefits to Income-Based Tuition.

有三个好处。

Any user can figure out

任何人都可以判断出

how much money he or she will make from a given college and major.

大学学位或专业能够带来多少收入。

Such informed users

这样，人们充分了解后，

are unlikely to fall victim to the huckster's ploy,

就不会陷于过度的

to the sales pitch.

宣传和推销中，

But also to choose wisely.

做出更加明智的选择。

Why would anybody pay more for college

如果大学的学费比将来收入要高出15%

than let's say, 15 percent of the additional income they earn?

那何苦还要上大学呢？

There's a second benefit to Income-Based Tuition.

第二个好处是，

By tying the cost to the income,

将花费与收入相连

college administrators would be forced to manage costs better,

也能迫使大学管理者们更好地

想出更多新办法来控制费用。

to find innovative ways to do so.

For instance,

例如，

all of you students here pay roughly the same tuition for every major.

不同专业的学生学费大概相同

That is manifestly unfair, and should change.

这很明显是不公平的，需要进行调整。

An engineering student uses more resources

学工程的比学哲学的

and facilities and labs and faculty

运用更多资源和设施、

than a philosophy student.

需要更多实验室和教职工。

But the philosophy student, as a consequence,

结果就是哲学专业的学生

is subsidizing the engineering student.

在补贴着工程专业的学生。

Who then, by the way, goes on and earns more money.

但是，谁又挣得更多呢？

Why should two people buy the same product,

为什么两个人付相同的费用、

pay the same,

买相同的产品，

but one person receive half or a third of the service.

却有一个人只能获得一半或三分之一的服务呢？

In fact, college grads, some majors,

实际上，一些专业的毕业生

pay 25 percent of their income servicing their student debt,

要拿出25%的工资付学生贷款，

while others pay five percent.

而其他专业的学生只需拿出5%。

That kind if inequity would end when majors are priced more correctly.

只有将不同专业更适当地定价 才能结束这种不平等现象。

Now of course, all this data --

当然，定价的数据，

and one of you is going to do this, right?

在座的会有人做这个，对吧？

All this data has to be well designed,

定价需要合理设计，

maybe audited by public accounting firms

也许需要公共会计师事务所来审计

to avoid statistical lies.

避免统计失误。

We know about statistics, right?

我们都对统计略知一二。

But be that as it may,

尽管如此

the third and biggest benefit of Income-Based Tuition,

收入基准学费的第三个，也是最大的好处是，

is it would free Americans from the fear and the fact of financial ruin

即便人们买了有缺陷的产品

也不会产生消费恐惧或者巨大的经济负担

because they bought a defective product.

Perhaps, in time,

也许，最后

young and old Americans may rediscover,

美国人会重新发掘，

as the gentleman said earlier,

就如人们之前所说，

their curiosity, their love of learning --

自己的好奇心和对知识的渴望，

begin to study what they love,

会开始学习自己热爱的，

love what they study,

热爱自己学到的，

follow their passion ...

追随自己的热情，

getting stimulated by their intelligence,

用他们的才智，

follow paths of inquiry that they really want to.

去探索他们真正想了解的。

After all, it was Eric and Kevin,

毕竟，两年前

正是Eric和Kevin，

two years ago,

just exactly these kinds of young men,

这样的年轻人，

who prompted me and worked with me,

给我鼓励、与我并肩作战

and still do,

直至今日，

in the study of indebted students in America.

研究美国负债学生的情况。

Thank you for your attention.

感谢您的倾听。

(Applause)

（掌声）