The answer to most "why" questions in the U.S. over the course of the past sixty or so years is "Reagan, racism, or most likely both." Such as:
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🎯 The Origin of Student Debt: Reagan Adviser Warned Free College Would Create a Dangerous “Educated Proletariat” In 1970, Roger Freeman, who also worked for Nixon, revealed the right’s motivation for coming decades of attacks on higher education. theintercept.com/2022/08/25/s...
aug 20, 2025, 11:36 am • 2 1 • view
"Freeman’s remarks were reported...under the headline 'Professor Sees Peril in Education.' According to the Chronicle article, Freeman said, 'We are in danger of producing an educated proletariat. … That’s dynamite! We have to be selective on who we allow [to go to college].”'"
aug 20, 2025, 11:36 am • 2 1 • view
I’m thinking about it from the perspective of there being a fundamental change in the core function and values of these institutions. It is likely that this shift is just mirroring broader changes in society at large. The valuing of money over people/knowledge/philosophy/etc…
aug 19, 2025, 1:29 am • 1 1 • view
Yes, that is Reagan and racism. I'm not being flip, there's a lot of scholarship on this question and that's the answer. ruor.uottawa.ca/items/4c7d52... www.jstor.org/stable/42926... www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1... muse.jhu.edu/article/5920...
aug 19, 2025, 1:46 am • 3 1 • view
Thanks for these links.
aug 19, 2025, 3:06 am • 1 0 • view