How college loans exploit students for profit | Sajay Samuel

Translator: Clement Cheung Reviewer: Wink Wong

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

今時今日，有四千萬個美國人

孭住一筆讀書債投身社會

佢哋屋企窮，要借錢讀大學

Too poor to pay their way through college,

they now owe lenders more than one trillion US dollars.

而家夾埋嘅債務有成一兆美金咁多

They do find what jobs they can get

呢班畢業生乜嘢工都要試

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

為求還得清自己筆債

In America,

喺美國

even a bankrupt gambler gets a second chance.

連一個破咗產嘅爛賭二都翻身有望

But it is nearly impossible

但完全唔使指意

一個畢業生可以還清筆債

for an American to get discharged their student loan debts.

Once upon a time in America,

以前响美國

讀大學唔等於要負債纍纍咁畢業

going to college did not mean graduating with debt.

我朋友阿 Paul

My friend Paul's father graduated from Colorado State University

佢爸爸喺科羅拉多州立大學畢業

當年有退伍軍人法保障

on the GI Bill.

For his generation,

嗰個年代

higher education was free or almost free,

大學學費全免，又或者近乎零

因為政府覺得大專學歷對社會有益

because it was thought of as a public good.

Not anymore.

但好景不常

When Paul also graduated from Colorado State University,

輪到阿 Paul 喺同一間大學畢業嗰陣

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

英文系畢業嘅佢，要做住兼職嚟還債

卅年前

30 years ago,

higher education tuition was affordable, reasonable,

多數人都畀得起大學學費

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

你爭落嘅錢，畢業之前就可以還晒

Not anymore.

但好景不常

Paul's daughter followed in his footsteps,

輪到阿 Paul 個囡同樣步佢後塵

but with one difference:

唯一唔同嘅係

when she graduated five years ago,

五年前佢畢業嗰陣

it was with a whopping debt.

孭住成身債

Students like Kate have to take on a loan

阿 Kate 同埋其他大學生都要借錢

because the cost of higher education has become unaffordable

因為大學學費經已貴到

for many if not most American families.

好多美國家庭都負擔唔起

But so what?

咁又點啫？

借筆錢嚟投資一個貴價學位

Getting into debt to buy an expensive education

is not all bad if you could pay it off

只要第日還到錢，就唔成問題啦

with the increased income that you earned from it.

有大學學歷，起碼有得賺多啲嘛

But that's where the rubber meets the road.

但問題嘅癥結就响呢度

Even a college grad earned 10 percent more in 2001

連一個 2001 年畢業嘅人所賺嘅錢

比起 2013 年畢業嘅 Kate

than she did in 2013.

仲要多出 10%

So ...

所以…

tuition costs up,

學費飆升

public funding down,

津貼少咗

家庭收入又縮咗水

family incomes diminished,

personal incomes weak.

個人收入微薄

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

唔怪得有多過四分一嘅畢業生

連要還債都還唔到

cannot make their student loan payments?

The worst of times can be the best of times,

不過，最壞嘅時刻亦係最好嘅時刻

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

因為啲事實就攞喺响你面前，唔理唔得

I want to speak of three of them today.

今日我想講其中三個事實

1.2 trillion dollars of debts for diplomas

1.2 兆美金嘅學債

make it abundantly obvious

明顯反映咗

that higher education is a consumer product you can buy.

大學教育經已淪為一種消費品

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

我哋講起教育就好似班資本家咁

as an investment that you make to improve the human stock

將教育當係投資，愛嚟增強人力資本

by training them for work.

訓練啲人出嚟做嘢

As an investment you make to sort and classify people

愛嚟將啲學生按等級分類

so that employers can hire them more easily.

等啲僱主請人嗰陣容易啲

The U.S. News & World Report ranks colleges

《美國新聞與世界報導》 公布大學排名嘅方式

just as the consumer report rates washing machines.

十足啲消費報告評估啲洗衣機咁款

The language is peppered with barbarisms.

份報告用詞粗暴到極

Teachers are called "service providers,"

叫啲老師做「服務提供者」

students are called "consumers."

叫啲學生做「消費者」

Sociology and Shakespeare and soccer and science,

社會學呀，莎士比亞呀 足球同埋科學呀

all of these are "content."

呢啲冚唪唥叫做「服務內容」

學業借貸好好賺

Student debt is profitable.

Only not on you.

不過賺嗰個唔會係你

Your debt fattens the profit of the student loan industry.

你嘅債務甚至養肥咗 成個學生借貸行業

The two 800-pound gorillas of which --

呢個行頭其中兩條巨龍

Sallie Mae and Navient --

Sallie Mae 同埋 Navient

posted last year a combined profit of 1.2 billion dollars.

公布上年總盈利一共有 12 億美金

And just like home mortgages,

學生貸款正正同樓宇按揭一樣

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

可以係捆綁式、套餐式同拆件式

and sold on Wall Street.

响華爾街出售

And colleges and universities

啲大專院校

that invest in these securitized loans

投資呢啲證券貸款嘅時候

profit twice.

頭尾賺兩轉

Once from your tuition,

首先賺你筆學費

and then again from the interest on debt.

跟住賺你啲息口

睇見盤生意咁好賺

With all that money to be made,

大家仲會奇怪嗰啲高等教育辦學團體

are we surprised that some in the higher education business

點解會用啲失實嘅宣傳手段

have begun to engage in false advertising,

in bait and switch ...

嚟推銷利誘

in exploiting the very ignorance that they pretend to educate?

藉教育嚟剝削緊乜都唔知嘅學生嗎？

Third:

第三：

diplomas are a brand.

學位經已淪為品牌

Many years ago my teacher wrote,

當年我有個老師寫話：

"When students are treated as consumers,

「當學生變成一班消費者，

they're made prisoners of addiction and envy."

佢哋就會喺度盲追學位，鬥生鬥死。」

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

正如蘋果不斷向人推銷新款 iPhone

做教育嘅亦可以不斷向人推銷學位

so also people can be sold more and more education.

College is the new high school,

昨日嘅中學，變成今日嘅大學

we already say that.

一早有人咁講過

But why stop there?

但點解要停喺呢一步？

People can be upsold on certifications and recertifications,

大學可以不斷招攬人讀文憑，讀完再讀

master's degrees, doctoral degrees.

再讀碩士學位、博士學位

Higher education is also marketed as a status object.

佢哋仲推銷專上教育係地位嘅象徵

Buy a degree,

買學位

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

同你買架凌志、買個 LV 一樣

係買嚟抬高身價

to distinguish yourself from others.

So you can be the object of envy of others.

靠佢，你可以招人妒忌

Diplomas are a brand.

學位已經淪為品牌

但係呢啲真相成日畀一片叫賣聲掩埋

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

There is not a day that goes by

日日硬係有班政客

without some policy guy on television telling us,

喺個公仔箱度同我哋講：

"A college degree is absolutely essential

「大學學位好重要，

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

有佢先可以扶搖直上、做到中產。」

And the usual evidence offered is the college premium:

通常理據就係專上學歷競爭力高：

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

大專畢業比起高中畢業平均賺多 56%

Let's look at that number more carefully,

我哋再細心啲解讀個數字

because on the face of it,

因為驟眼睇

it seems to belie the stories we all hear

個數字好似喺度推翻緊嗰啲

about college grads working as baristas and cashiers.

「大學畢業做收銀沖咖啡」 之類嘅新聞咁

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

响 100 個有專上學歷嘅人裏面

45 do not complete it in a timely fashion,

45 個冇順利畢業

for a number of reasons, including financial.

原因好多，財政困難係其一

Of the 55 that do graduate,

嗰 55 個順利畢業嘅人

two will remain unemployed,

有兩個冇嘢做

and another 18 are underemployed.

有 18 個搵唔到長工

So, college grads earn more than high school grads,

雖然大學畢業生搵得多過中學畢業生

but does it pay for the exorbitant tuition

但究竟佢哋夠唔夠填嗰筆巨債

and the lost wages while at college?

同埋你讀書嗰陣冇咗嘅搵錢機會呢？

Now even economists admit

依家連經濟學家都承認

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

只有順利畢到業嘅大學生先還得哂

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

而純粹係因為中學畢業生嘅薪水

for decades now.

幾廿年嚟大幅縮水

For decades,

咁多年嚟

workers with a high school degree

有高中學歷嘅人

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

付出同收入唔成正比

And had they received as they should have,

若果佢哋可以賺返佢哋應得嘅水平

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

咁讀大學對好多人嚟講肯定係蝕大本

College premium?

大學畢業生薪水嘅溢價

I think it's a high school discount.

我睇都係靠高中畢業生倒貼而嚟

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

有三份二嘅大學畢業生發現 工作未如理想

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

佢哋唔睇好前景

in fact, it's downright bleak.

或者直情覺得前途暗淡

And it is they who are going to suffer

而正正係佢哋要去承受

the most punishing forms of student debt.

學債帶嚟嘅沉重負擔

最心悒嘅係，正正係佢哋

And it is they,

curiously and sadly,

who are marketed most loudly about this college premium thing.

畀人最落力用學位升值呢個理由氹落搭

That's not just cynical marketing,

咁嘅銷售伎倆，自私自利不特止

that's cruel.

仲係麻木不仁

咁我哋做啲乜嘢好？

So what do we do?

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

如果學生同家長都當學位係商品呢？

個個似乎都咁睇

Everybody else seems to.

Then, like any other consumer product,

買任何商品嗰陣

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

你會要人哋清楚交代件貨嘅詳情

When you buy medicines,

你去買藥

you get a list of side effects.

佢會寫明有咩副作用

When you buy a higher educational product,

你買件大學商品嗰陣

you should have a warning label

佢需要有張警告標籤

that allows consumers to choose,

畀消費者有權揀

make informed choices.

知情下做決定

When you buy a car,

你去買車

佢會話你知每加侖預計跑到幾多里

it tells you how many miles per gallon to expect.

但冇人會預計到讀完大學

Who knows what to expect

from a degree say, in Canadian Studies.

譬如讀完科「加拿大研究」前景會係點

There is such a thing, by the way.

真係有呢個學系㗎

What if there was an app for that?

假如有個應用程式可以話個前景我哋知？

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

計吓個學費同預期人工係咪成正比

暫且叫個應用程式做 Income-Based Tuition 或者 IBT 啦

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

One of you make this.

係你哋其中一個人設計而嚟

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Discover your reality.

正視返你嘅前途問題

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

There are three advantages,

IBT 呢個應用程式有三個好處

three benefits to Income-Based Tuition.

Any user can figure out

用戶可以知道

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

讀完某某大學同埋學系，人工會係幾多

Such informed users

用家有咗呢啲資訊

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

就冇咁易

畀啲無良推銷員氹得掂

to the sales pitch.

But also to choose wisely.

同時可以揀得明智啲

Why would anybody pay more for college

到時仲邊有人會交一筆

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

高過預期人工 15% 嘅學費出嚟呢?

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

IBT 有第二個好處

By tying the cost to the income,

透過顯示學費同薪金嘅關係

college administrators would be forced to manage costs better,

大學管理層必須要運用新思維

to find innovative ways to do so.

去妥善釐訂學費

For instance,

譬如

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

大部份嘅學生不論學系，學費劃一

That is manifestly unfair, and should change.

呢個制度明顯好唔公平，需要改革

An engineering student uses more resources

工程系嘅學生通常用到嘅資源

and facilities and labs and faculty

譬如設施、實驗室、教職員呢啲

than a philosophy student.

會多過哲學系嘅學生

But the philosophy student, as a consequence,

但呢班哲學生

變相資助緊班工程系學生

is subsidizing the engineering student.

第時人工高一截嘅工程系學生

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

Why should two people buy the same product,

點解要兩個人買嘅貨一樣

pay the same,

畀嘅錢一樣

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

但其中一個淨係享用到 一半甚或三份一呢？

In fact, college grads, some majors,

事實上，某啲學系嘅畢業生

pay 25 percent of their income servicing their student debt,

拎緊人工嘅 25% 嚟還債

但另一啲拎 5% 就得

while others pay five percent.

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

咁學科收費合理啲就會消除呢啲不公平

Now of course, all this data --

當然啦，而家呢堆資料…

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

我諗在座會有人走去搞㗎可？

All this data has to be well designed,

呢堆資料要有人整理好

maybe audited by public accounting firms

譬如交畀會計公司做審計

to avoid statistical lies.

避免畀啲統計數字呃

We know about statistics, right?

統計大家都識㗎可？

But be that as it may,

除咗正話兩個好處

the third and biggest benefit of Income-Based Tuition,

第三個，而且係 IBT 最大嘅好處

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

就係令美國人唔使驚再陷入財困

because they bought a defective product.

唔使再驚買咗件爛貨返嚟

Perhaps, in time,

或者某個時刻

新舊兩代嘅美國人重新發現

young and old Americans may rediscover,

as the gentleman said earlier,

正如頭先嗰位講者所講

their curiosity, their love of learning --

對知識嘅追求同熱愛

begin to study what they love,

開始學啲想學嘅嘢

love what they study,

鍾意自己學緊嘅嘢，隨心而行

follow their passion ...

getting stimulated by their intelligence,

深受知識所啟發

follow paths of inquiry that they really want to.

去探索自己渴望探索嘅事物

After all, it was Eric and Kevin,

望返轉頭，其實係阿 Eric 同 Kevin

two years ago,

兩年前

just exactly these kinds of young men,

正正係呢一班後生仔

who prompted me and worked with me,

佢哋鼓勵我，同我共事

and still do,

到到而家

in the study of indebted students in America.

依然落力研究緊美國呢個學生貸款問題

Thank you for your attention.

好多謝大家！

(Applause)

（鼓掌）