Most In GOP Say Colleges Have A Negative Effect On U.S.

This was rather shocking to me. It seems that a majority of Republicans (59%) now say colleges and universities have a negative effect on the way things are going in the United States. It's just the opposite for Democrats, with 67% saying colleges and universities have a positive effect on the country.

Prior to 2016, a majority of Republicans thought higher education had a positive effect. But by 2017, they had flipped to believing it has a negative effect. Colleges and universities have not changed. It is the Republicans that have changed.

The Republicans have become more racist and xenophobic, and cling to economic policies that do not work for most Americans. And they worry that college educated people do not accept their more extreme views. Instead of moderating their views, they would rather blame education. They think evil liberal college professors are propagandizing students. That's a ridiculous notion, since educated people are harder to propagandize, not easier.

Regardless of the GOP view of colleges, the bottom chart shows that a college education pays off in the long run. The median income of people with a Bachelor's degree is about $56,000 a year -- $20,000 more than a person with just some college, and $25,000 more than a person with no college. And that pay gap is growing wider.

Charts are from the Pew Research Center.