END THE LOAN GUARANTEE AND MAKE PUBLIC EDUCATION FREE:

 It was also in 1992 that President George H. W. Bush signed the Higher Education Act, creating the precursor of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, the current system. Students could take on tens of thousands of dollars in easily available credit, repayable after they left college.

Demand for a college education soared, while the financial impacts for students and their families were deferred. The public was persuaded that "more people going to college" was an unmitigated good. Under the veil of that notion, universities realized a grand opportunity to make money, funded by the federal taxpayer. This is on top of the enormous endowments, donations, and research grants that colleges also enjoy. Elite colleges have capitalized on parents' eagerness to have their children admitted to the very best schools, which families view as a ticket to success in life.

All this, while higher education's nonprofit status -- requiring schools to invest surpluses back into the university -- makes them tax exempt. It's a crass act of profiteering. In 2018, the approximately 4,000 American colleges and universities took in a combined $1.068 trillion in revenue, tax free. That averages out to about $250 million per school.

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