As we slowly drain our inheritance to pay for two kids college educations, it's troubling to see that college degrees don't necessarily pay off. There is undoubtedly a lot of noise in that data, as every college degree and every college is not the same. If we were to take the $250,000 that four years of college costs and just give it to the boys and let them work a trade, maybe that does create more wealth.
Luckily, both seem invested in fields where they are likely to make more money. Since we will be able -via intergenerational wealth from our own parents - to pay for their college, they will graduate without debt and hopefully be able to buy a home by the time they're 30. There seems to be some energy around the general scarcity of housing, and hopefully actual solutions will help bring the cost of housing down. At the same time, you look at Canada's housing situation and...yikes. It's not reserved to us. Same goes for Europe in some places.
My parents and grandparents' wealth allowed me to become a teacher, a career I deeply love, and yet still allow my sons to graduate without debt. That's an unbelievable blessing. However, I'm not 100% sure where we will retire to after we lose school housing.
Does this make me "economically anxious"? Not really. I once had to pawn my bike and a gold coin my uncle gave me to make the grocery bill. Even then, I could always go home and not starve.
I'm not sure how the disappearing wealth premium can be addressed. I think a wealth tax would help, if it was directed at making housing and healthcare more affordable. How many people see their savings wiped out because of medical bills?
Still, one can't help but wonder why college is so damned expensive, if it doesn't give you a return on investment.
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