Kay Hymowitz: The Devaluation of Higher Education

“This brings in the status issue again, doesn’t it? Because there are so many careers that people just wouldn’t consider because how would they tell their friends?”

On July 22nd, Kay S. Hymowitz joined Merion West editor-in-chief Erich Prince to discuss her latest piece in City Journal on college degree devaluation. Ms. Hymowitz is the William E. Simon Fellow at the Manhattan Institute as well as a contributing editor at City Journal. In this interview, Ms. Hymowitz and Mr. Prince discuss the notion of free college for all, how the bachelor’s degree rush morphed into the master’s degree race, the role social status plays in discussions about higher education, and, finally, potential solutions to close the gap between those who are college-educated and those who are not.

Kay, good morning. Looking forward to chatting about your piece, which I think was very interesting. As I mentioned, it’s a topic I’ve had my eye on for a while.

What’s your interest in it specifically?

I do a number of one-on-one interviews with members of Congress on the issues, and I first encountered this around 2019. I was interviewing then-freshman Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, who, before she got involved in all of the constant Trump investigations, allegedly was interested in education. She was putting forward a proposal a lot like we’re hearing now about making college more and more available. I brought up to her someone you quote in the piece, Bryan Caplan, and his book The Case Against Education, and it was like talking to a brick wall.

Yes, I know their framework. [Laughs.] It’s college for all, and that is it.