Is Prison a Better Deal than College?

College for everyone, right?

That's what President Obama is pushing, even for those of us who have already been there, done that.

But Herman Castillo has his regrets. Who is Herman Castillo? Read this uncomfortable story:

College Grad: 'I wish I'd gone to prison instead'

Hernan Castillo is treading water, trying to survive under the weight of $5,200 in credit card debt and $30,000 in student loans. He’s making payments on time, but the Orange County, Calif., resident sees little hope for getting out of the warehouse job he holds and landing a job as an accountant, the field in which he earned his degree. And forget about saving money for a home or retirement. He now firmly believes the money he spent earning a college degree was a waste.

"Every day I wish I had never gone to college,” Castillo said. “It has been the biggest mistake of my life. Sometimes I wish I had gone to prison instead of college. At least I would have learned a trade or two and started being independent once I got out."

Castillo pays about $600 a month evenly divided between his student loans and his credit card payments. I would imagine that doesn't leave much for housing, transportation, food and clothing, let alone entertainment.

The key nasty in his sad tale is the $30,000 in student loans he no doubt was encouraged to borrow. This tale is repeated by the millions across America.

I hate to say this because I believe in the value of higher education, but college is not for everyone. More importantly, large debts are the albatross around many a neck of young graduates that prevent them from achieving their version of the American dream. Debt is a very bad habit to acquire, and the government does young people no favors by dangling easy money to college students.

This is another reason why Mr. Obama's posturing on college loans AND credit cards rankles me. One minute he's talking about making the federal government the sole source of college assistance, and the next he is castigating the private credit card companies for promoting their wares to the same young people.

It's just another form of financial poison, people! One kills your bank account and future a bit quicker, perhaps, but they are both well worth avoiding.

The answer could well be to encourage young people to work harder, save money, attend community colleges on a pay-as-you-go basis, or to put more emphasis on vocational-technical education so that we actually have people in our society who can, you know, DO things. It's quite possible that we have enough accountants and stockbrokers for the moment.

We damn sure have enough lawyers.

The presence of public money -- even if it is filtered through private lending -- both corrupts and mutates the higher education system. The cost of going to college has risen far faster than the rate of inflation over the past couple of decades, forcing larger loan amounts by students.

This should surprise no one who has studied economics and history. When government enters an area once solely the province of the private sector, costs go up and efficiencies go down. Personal and private incentives to economize are reduced.

This used to be common knowledge, part of what we used to call common sense.

Unfortunately there will be more Herman Castillos in America's future since there are too many people who mistakenly believe that public compassion should include Obama's recasting of the student loan program into a universal college education that, in turn, morphs into some sort of mandatory civil service requirement.