I think it’s fair to say that for many of us, this was one of the most tumultuous years we’ve experienced politically and socially. Then again, it feels like we say that with every passing year. Or, for those of who experienced the whirlwind of the 20th century, this isn’t anything yet, but it’s getting there.

Many of us are scared, angry or just fed up. It seems nothing has changed and that things no longer will. Everything seems out of our control. It’s easy to start thinking of only ourselves, lash out at others, or just give up. Losing faith in the United States, or denouncing it altogether, seems to be a trend no matter which way you lean.

Placing blame for the state of the nation seems as simple as picking a president (current or past) and blaming his policies. However, it’s easy to forget that history builds on itself. While...

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/01/states-with-highest-student-loan-debt.html

Brown Center Fellow Beth Akers recently participated in a lively debate over the controversial motion, “student loans are a crisis for students and the economy,” at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) annual conference. Akers was joined by Andrew Kelly, director of the Center on Higher Education Reform at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), in arguing against the motion, while Kevin Fudge, manager of Government Relations and Community Affairs at American Student Assistance, and Mark Huelsman, senior policy analyst at Demos, argued in favor. In the words of moderator John Donovan, the faceoff was “a battle of persuasion,” with the objective being to sway as many audience votes as possible.

In the course of one hour, both sides were given opportunities to make arguments, to react to one another, and to respond to audience questions, and in that time all four participants made many compelling points.

Huelsman argued succinctly that “The most important reason we face a crisis in the system is that a degree is far from guaranteed.” He went on to explain that four in ten low-income borrowers and four in ten black borrowers drop out of school, with the vast majority citing student loan debt as the number one reason for dropping out. Most concerning...