Writers Joseph Cronin and Howard Horton spoke very loud and clear about their concerns over a “bubble” that is destined to burst over the coming decades in Americas education system of public and private colleges. Much like the Dot Com burst of the early millennium and the recent housing market downward spiral this country is still recovering from, the warning signs are seemingly written all over the wall, and if we wish to avoid such a catastrophe we must made decisive actions now. Otherwise, we’ll face a crisis of a country that can now only educate a small class of citizens, while the rest of us struggle to keep up with the rest of the developing world.

     The way things used to be in this country was a man could go to work at a job he had secured right after graduating from a college which was largely paid for with the G.I. Bill, work a 40 hour week, know exactly how much of his paycheck he would be setting aside for his retirement, the mortgage and his children’s educational fund. All of these ducks were lined up in such a predictable and safe manner, that it seemed strange that we would every shy away from such a system. But now, as Joseph and Howard said, more and more students and parents are finding it impossible to rationalize spending over a grand a week to send their child to a traditional four year school. And even though the cap on certain grants have been raised and an effort to find more money for returning veterans to go back to school, it seems as though there are only so many options available to students when it comes to finding a reasonable way for them to complete a college education.

     While the rate of community colleges have risen, and more unconventional approaches have gained some traction – such as the largest online collage, The University of Phoenix, as well as basing a universities President’s salary based on how much more affording they can make their college to the general public – it is speculated that sooner or later, the bubble will burst the the American dream of an obtainable education will be an all but forgotten memory for most of this countries middle class families.

 1. Cronin, Joseph Marr and Howard E. Horton. “Will Higher Education be the Next Bubble to Burst?” The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education. 22 May 2009. Web 21 Mar. 2016.