4. "The Upper-Middle Class Has Itself to Blame for Student Debt"

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/08/the-upper-middle-class-has-itself-to-blame-for-student-debt/261010/

An associate editor at The Atlantic Jordan Weissmann informs the readers how outrageous the Upper-Middle class people are willing to pay more and more money for their children's tuitions claiming that in the future their what they will get paid will cover it all up, also he explains how the upper-middle class families are the ones to blame for the student debt. Weissmann goes on to explain that the upper-middle class families are not wealthy enough to pay the full amount of tuitions but they do not qualify to big discounts because they are not needy for it, but whatever the cost for the college is they are willing to pay because it means a better future for their children and in the future will pay off. He goes on to explain that this phenomenon has affected and created problems over and over again with the same group. Weissmann explains with a lot of concern that over the years private colleges have risen their tuitions and make the Upper class pay them off, and as a good parent who thinks that "…where you go to college really does seem to matter.." and "By paying up for prestige…the extra investment over the course of their careers," they don't mind paying that extra money and having those extra debts. Weissmann focuses on the fact that if parents and student were more concerned about how much they are paying and with what all that is happening the colleges would most likely react in a different way and even cut off some of the tuition.

Weissmann thought this whole article emphasizes and tries to persuade the audience to do something about the over priced tuitions. He explains to people that if the Upper-Middle class families did something about it, then they wouldn't be paying so much for their children's tuitions, but the more willingness they have the more the costs go up. He explains that the only three ways to stop this is by "getting priced out of top schools," "cultural shift," or college administrators make an executive decision to slow down their rate hikes" which would all cause the school to cut down on their overprices tuition funds. He ends his article with a very surprising and shocker announcement, that even though many families are paying so much on tuitions, "they are probably willing to pay more."