Leigh Speakers' Bureau

The Seventeen-Year-Old is going to college next year, which means that I need to think about making more money. (The idea that one might write checks to rather than receive checks from universities is now strange to me.) So I have signed up with the Leigh Speakers' Bureau, which also handles:

Theme: Economics: Chris Anderson; James Austin; Suzanne Berger; William Bernstein; Michael Boskin; John Brandt; Arthur C. Brooks; Pat Choate; Amy Chua; Peter Cornelius; Kenneth Courtis; Clive Crook; J. Bradford DeLong; Emma Duncan; Bill Emmott; Juan Enriquez; Robert H. Frank; William Goetzmann; Vijay Govindarajan; Jacob Hacker; Tim Harford; Douglas J. Holtz-Eakin; Robert Kagan; John Kay; Paul Krugman; Bill McKibben; John Micklethwait; James O'Shaughnessy; Kenichi Ohmae; Maria Otero; Patricia Panchak; John Perkins; Paul Romer; Jeffrey Sachs; Robert Shiller; Kenneth L. Shropshire; James F. Smith; James Surowiecki; Lester Thurow; Alvin Toffler; Martin Wolf; Adrian Wooldridge.

Comments

[ctate]

Isn't that what student loans are for? Or has college once again become the domain only of the already-wealthy?

[Andrew John]

Never mind student loans. Isn't that what the life-cycle model is for?

[Slocum]

"Isn't that what student loans are for? Or has college once again become the domain only of the already-wealthy?"

Actually, college tuition is a highly progressive tax. The 'tax return' is the FAFSA form. If you're already wealthy you're expected to pay full retail (or close to it). We have an 18-year-old who started college this year. The private schools wanted $40K/year (that's after a modest academic scholarship/discount). Let's see $40K x 4 years x 2 kids = $320K. NF Way. The kid's at a state university. Thank you Krueger and Dale (http://69.57.157.207/issues/2.7.00/ivies.html) -- you saved us a fortune (and our kids many years of painful student loan repayments).

[bigTom]

I'm in the same place, eldest starts next year. All three of them have roughly 2years worth (at state inst. rates) packed away so I might see a couple more years of respite. Btw: I'm recommending the 17year old apply to Berkley.

Is a bit worrysome as the cash flow is roughly in equilibrium with the present earnings, and I won't be offered any speaking engagements.

[wood turtle]

Aren't you in a dual income household that puts you in the top 1%? It shouldn't be too difficult for you to come up with 40 grand a year. No more $5 coffees though, for awhile.

Think of it as an investment. Your child will hopefully have a better job because of it, and will be in a better position to take care of you in your old age.

[Douglas Knight]

"x 2 kids"

Actually, many colleges offer "buy 1 get 1 free."

[trotsky]

Curious economics problem: How has the blog affected your relative value as a speaker? Surely this question came up with the bureau.

[malcolm]

I am the father of 17 year old twin sons who will be going to college next year. I
completely understand your anxiety.

[Slocum]

"x 2 kids"

Actually, many colleges offer "buy 1 get 1 free.

----------------

Even if such a deal were available, what are the chances kid 2 will make the same college choice as kid 1? Now it is true that once kid two is in school, then your FAFSA reflects the combined tuition expenses. But we're one of those oddball families not only with a relatively high income, but also a high level of savings (outside our retirement accounts). Our thrift is our doom with respect to getting a break on tuition. Bottom line -- we'd be expected to pay full tuition for both.

[Jonathan King]

Dr. DeLong already lives in California, so the idea of strategically moving to California to get into the UC system for much, much less is actually already in place for him. I guess the problem is that he teaches at Berkeley, which means the kids would feel more comfortable at some other UC, and I think only UCLA, and UCSD are really in the same tier as undergrad institutions.

But here's a really sneaky idea for getting tuition discounts: get a job with the next administration and move to Washington, DC. Because DC has no state college system, they get a special deal whereby the kids of DC residents who graduated there get in-state tuition in *every state*. (Caution: this could go away at the caprice of Congress.) This is my backup plan for getting my twelve-year-old into Berkeley one of these days...

[bailey]

Great, I propose you start with a talk about how we can address the problems caused by defining down "inflation" to its present ludicrous point.