NOBODY PAYS LIST PRICE. That's because, where there are third party payments, the incentives to discover the factor-minimal bundle are attenuated.

Cato’s Neal McCluskey writes here about the impact of government student aid; it’s more accurate to call it “college aid” because it helps schools to bring in more money, spend it, and then claim that students need more “help.” He marshals some strong evidence.

Obama is jetting around the country, telling audiences to vote for Democrats because they are so dedicated to keeping college “affordable.” But increasing government subsidy for attending college doesn’t lower costs — it increases them and spreads them to taxpayers who would rather do something else with their money if they had any choice.

To be specific:

Because students are able to cover the incessantly rising prices. And how can students do that? By using more and more money that comes from someone else!

The data scream this reality so loudly even passed-out undergrads could hear it. So why does it get so little attention? In part, no doubt, because many in the media refuse to even consider that there could be a causal connection between ballooning aid and skyrocketing prices.

Case in point: I just purchased The Cars of Pullman, a full-size, lavishly illustrated, short press run book for $40. A similarly-sized paperback textbook of 182 pages would likely set you back almost $100, and the publishers would want to revise it after three years. Our bookstore is now seeking the cooperation of faculty in keeping students' book bill below $700, as that is how much money financial aid authorized. I don't believe in coincidences.

The article, written before the election, speculates on the ability of the Democrats to buy votes by being generous with the grants and loans. How's that hope and change working out?

A related article suggests another source of social waste in the grants and loans.

Just as housing subsidies incentivized people to purchase homes that they otherwise shouldn’t have, higher education subsidies have incentivized people to go to college who weren’t ready or suited for it. In both cases, the cost to taxpayers has been substantial while the alleged benefits have proven illusory.

The higher education establishment's loyalty to Democrats might well be repaid in light of the election results. Think of the Pell Grants and the national endowments as Grenada. The Berlin Wall comes later.