Peter Spiak
Composition I
Professor Cavanaugh
October 8th, 2009
Anya Kamenetz raises a good point early in her book when she says “Its hard to invest in ourselves when our nation isn’t interested in investing in us”. In today’s culture it is more than common to see young adults living with parents longer, putting off college, putting off marriage and ultimately delaying their future. This is cause for alarm, and the people to blame are not who you think. The reason for these near failure and failed attempts aren’t this generation itself but the preceding one. The ones who control today’s big business and almost every other aspect of this country. It has been made crystal clear that our nation isn’t even remotely interested in investing in the younger generations, and ultimately their future.
The dream of young men and women entering adulthood was the dream of independence. This dream started as young as high school as the urge to push forward and obtain a degree was upon them. In the previous generations college and a degree offered a better future, a future of stability. In today’s generation a college degree offers no more than a glimmering hope. The question is when did this change occur from a better future to just barely making it? It happened when the generation before us decided to sell us out to big business and greed. They made it near impossible for the average person to attend college let alone be successful if they are to make it through college. As Kamenetz state’s the rise of tuition of many public and private colleges has increased significantly, to the point where those colleges are not even a choice for some students.
So how is an average person on average means ,who could once get in, supposed to do? The solution offered by big business were shaky student loans with high interest and the all American credit card system. Some students put some if not all of there tuition on credit and are left with unmanageable debt. With these...