新闻周刊:债台高筑 谁为高额助学贷款买单?(3)

I'm a college professor, but I still believe that the harsh realities of credential inflation should make us radically¹ rethink the social value of college.

我虽是大学教授，但仍认为文凭膨胀的严酷现实应该使我们从根本上重新思考大学的社会价值。

If students'main goal is not to learn useful skills but to outshine their peers, taxpayers² are fueling a zero-sum struggle.

如果学生的主要目标不是学习有用的知识，而是超过同龄人，那么纳税人就是在助长一场零和博弈。

My recent book crunches³ the numbers and concludes that our society would be richer if half our high school grads skipped college and joined the job market.

我最近的一本书通过分析数据得出结论：如果半数高中生都跳过大学直接进入劳动市场，那么社会将会变得更加富有。

And, frankly⁴, there's no point in making college more affordable⁵ for students who don't belong there in the first place.

而且，坦白来讲，让原本不属于大学的学生负担得起大学学费徒劳无功。

When the college degree was rare, there was little stigma⁶ against those who lacked it.

大学学位稀缺时，没有大学学位也不会感觉低人一等。

Our dream should not be a world where everyone goes to college but a world where you can get a good job straight out of high school.

我们的梦想不应是每个人都上大学，而是一个高中毕业就能找到好工作的世界。

Perhaps I go too far.

或许我说的有点过。

Some "weaker students" don't have the socioeconomic and academic advantages of those born into wealthy families.

一些“弱势学生”没有那些生在富裕家庭的社会以及学术优势。

But student loans are still underrated.

但学生贷款仍然被低估了。

Even no-interest loans leave students with some skin in the game.

即使是无息贷款也会让学生们受到一定影响。

If their educational investment flops⁷, they still have to repay the principal.

如果学生教育投资失败，仍需偿还本金。

Proposals to make college cheaper, or even free—as Senator Bernie Sanders urged in the last presidential campaign—delete that vital reality check.

降低大学学费，甚至免费的提议（伯尼·桑德斯在上一次总统竞选中提出）忽视了重要的现实状况。

Without tuition, the most fanciful academic experiments seem tempting⁸.

没有学费，哪怕是去做了最不切实际的学术实验似乎也很诱人。

Who knows, medieval studies could be the next big thing!

中世纪研究可能是下一个大事件，谁知道呢！

Student loan programs should be reformed.

学生贷款项目应该改革。

But wise reforms bolster⁹ borrowers'incentive to choose a productive path.

但明智的改革应推动借款人选择一条更有可能成功的路。

Charging equal interest rates regardless of odds¹⁰ of success or intended major is a recipe for fruitless credential inflation.

不管成功的几率有多大，也不管拟修读专业是什么，收取同等利率会导致徒劳无功的学历膨胀。

The prudent¹¹ course, which is standard procedure in the private sector¹², is to base interest rates on expected risk and reward.

正确的做法，即私营部门的标准程序，是基于预期风险和回报制定利率。

While there's always a chance you're a late bloomer, weaker students should know the odds are against them.

尽管存在大器晚成的几率，但是弱势学生可能心里也清楚胜算不大。

Students in low-earning majors should understand the difference between a hobby and a career path.

低收入专业的学生应该明白爱好和职业道路之间的区别。

And if you're worried about class divisions and economic inequality, wouldn't both be milder if we got credential inflation under control?

如果你也担心阶级分化和经济不平等，那么控制住学历膨胀，难道不会缓和一些吗？

For all their faults, student loan programs do warn students to look before they leap.

学生贷款项目尽管存在种种缺陷，但确实也在提醒学生三思而后行。

The pragmatic way forward is to raise interest rates for high-risk students to make these warnings loud and clear.

务实的做法是增加高风险学生的贷款利率，长鸣警钟。

Bryan Caplan is a professor of economics at George Mason University and author of The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money.

注：布莱恩·卡普兰是乔治梅森大学的经济学教授，著有《反对教育的理由：为什么教育系统浪费时间和金钱？》一书。

1 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

2 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

3 crunches   

n.（突发的）不足( crunch的名词复数 )；需要做出重要决策的困难时刻；紧要关头；嘎吱的响声v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的第三人称单数 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• I can't bear the way she crunches the sugar. 我简直看不惯她嚼糖的那副样子。 来自辞典例句
• Crunches with a twisting motion (to hit obliques) are excellent. 做仰卧起坐时加上转体动作更好。 来自互联网

4 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

5 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

6 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

7 flops   

n.失败( flop的名词复数 )v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的第三人称单数 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• a pair of flip-flops 一双人字拖鞋
• HPC environments are often measured in terms of FLoating point Operations Per Second (FLOPS) . HPC环境通常以每秒浮点运算次数(FLOPS)加以度量。 来自互联网

8 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

9 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

10 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

11 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。