Why do Americans keep propping up universities with taxpayer dollars and private donations? How can we justify giving colleges special treatment, while businesses that offer far more value get slammed with punishing taxes simply for turning a well-deserved profit?
The history behind these questions is long, winding, and complicated.
But the way forward is simple.
In fact, it’s as time-tested as the study of economics itself.
Senior Fellow Richard K. Vedder—Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Economics at Ohio University, Director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington, D.C., and bestselling author—sounds the alarm on the disastrous state of America’s higher education. More importantly, he shows us how to fix it.
Drawing inspiration from the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, Vedder applies the theory of “creative destruction” to America’s schools. He shows how policymakers have cushioned institutions from the demands, necessities, and realities of public life, and in so doing, have degraded them into weak, woke, and unforgivably expensive relics clinging to a bygone era.
He explains that we can crush student loans. We can be rid of corrupt, ideological accreditors. We can create a health voucher/scholarship arrangement between parents, students, and educators—one that makes excellent education more available and affordable than ever before.
To do so, Vedder’s message is clear: these schools must fail through “creative destruction”, in the same way that failing businesses must adapt or perish. Only then can we make room for newer, better, and more effective alternatives.
His book pulls no punches. It’s sharp. It’s bold. It will surely shock many readers.
It’s essential reading for that very reason.
Let Colleges Fail is the must-have guide for anyone who wants to revive American higher education and see it thrive once again.
