If I told lies and believed lies, I would not be a good economist. Please understand, on an honesty scale, I am about average. That is good enough to stay out of jail. With respect to economics, I never lie. That is because I don’t need to because I don’t have a job.

If I had a job, it might be to make the case that the whole world would be better off if all people had a college education. Someone who wanted to profit off of student loans or something else, might pay me to  do a study showing the benefits of going to college.

Since I don’t have a job, I have nothing to lose by being truthful. Economics is too simple for a degree to be offered in the subject. The basic principles have been around since Adam Smith.  The basics are all that matter.

So here it is, in one sentence, the economics of a college education.

The more educated people there are in the world, the less value each one will have in the labor market.

It really is as simple as that.  Government initiatives to send all kids to college, create the certainty that diplomas will not be worth very much in terms of getting a job.  The issue is compounded by dumbing down schools so as to pass out more diplomas faster.