Limiting coaches' salaries will not solve the student-tuition, debt and homelessness problem. But it can help. California, for example, could and should enact a statute providing that all coaches at the University of California and California state universities be paid no more than $500,000 per year. However, this must be done nationwide so that coaches will have no choice but to take lower salaries.
Every college in the United States receives money from the federal government. A lot of money. The University of Colorado, for example, gets more money from the federal government than it does from the State of Colorado. Congress could put some strings on that money and require that all colleges receiving federal funds limit the salaries of coaches to a maximum of $500,000 per year.
In addition, Congress can reduce the interest rate charged on student loans. Students are now charged 5.05 percent on federally-financed student loans. Congress can also vote to discharge student loans for students who take public-interest jobs, like working for rural health clinics, working for the Peace Corps, teaching in public schools, AmeriCorps or other public-service organizations.
The states have cut back funding to universities when they need it most. Back in 1970, California universities charged no tuition at all, only a modest registration fee of a few hundred dollars. Recently, California has gone from being a debtor state to a state with a surplus of nearly $30 billion. A large chunk of this surplus should go to state universities to lower tuition. California should lead the way to demonstrate that tuition and student debt do not have to hamstring our students. Lowering tuition and capping coaches' salaries will go a long way to reducing inequality and giving the poorest a chance at a college education without being homeless.
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