Whatawasteofmoney!Inreturnforanaverageof~44,000ofdebt,studentsgetanaverageofonly14hoursoflectureandtutorialtimeaweekinBritain.Annualfeeshaverisenfrom£1,000to£9,000inthelastdecade,butcontacttimeatuniversityhasbarelyrisenatall.Andgraduatingdoesn'tevenprovideanyguaranteeofadecentjob:sixintengraduatestodayareinnon-graduatejobs.Nowonderithasbecomefashionabletodenouncemanyuniversitiesaslittlemorethanelaboratecon-tricks(骗术).There'salotforstudentstocomplainabout:therepaymentthresholdforpayingbackloanswillbefrozenforfiveyears,meaningthatlower-paidgraduateshavetostartrepayingtheirloans;andmaintenancegrantshavebeenreplacedbyloans,meaningthatstudentsfrompoorerbackgroundsfacehigherdebtthanthosewithwealthierparents.Yetitstillpaystogotouniversity.Ifgoingtouniversitydoesn'tworkout,studentspayverylittle--ifany--oftheirtuitionfeesback:youonlystartrepayingwhenyouareearning£21,000ayear.Almosthalfofgraduates--thosewhogoontoearnless--willhaveaportionoftheirdebtwrittenoff.It'snotjustthelecturesandtutorialsthatareimportant.Educationisthesumofwhatstudentsteacheachotherinbetweenlecturesandseminars.Studentsdonotmerelybenefitwhileatuniversity;studiesshow-theygoontobehealthierandhappierthannon-graduates,andalsofarmorelikelytovote.Whateveryourtalents,itisextraordinarilydifficulttogetaleadingjobinmostfieldswithouthavingbeentouniversity.Recruiterscircleeliteuniversitieslikevultures(兀鹰).Manytopfirmswillnotevenlookatapplicationsfromthosewholacka2.1,i.e.,anupper-secondclassdegree,fromaneliteuniversity.Studentsatuniversityalsomeetthoselikelytobeinleadingjobsinthefuture,formingcontactsforlife.Thismightnotberight,butschool-leaverswhofailtoacknowledgeasmuchriskmakingthewrongdecisionaboutgoingtouniversity.Perhapsthereasonwhysomanyuniversitiesoffertheirstudentssolittleistheyknowstudyingatatopuniversityremainsabrilliantinvestmentevenifyoudon'tlearnanything.Studyingatuniversitywillonlybecomelessattractiveifemployersshifttheirfocusawayfromwheresomeonewenttouniversity--andthereisnosignofthathappeninganytimesoon.Schoololeaversmaymoan,buttheyhavelittlechoicebuttoembraceuniversityandthestudentdebtthatcomeswithit.31.Whatistheauthor’sopinionofgoingtouniversity?
AssumethatacompanyGammaTechCorp.hasanopeningbalanceofowner’sequityof£52,000asofJanuary1,2018.Thecompanyhadequityworth£14,000infusedfrominvestorsduringtheyear.Also,thecompanymadeaprofitof£34,500anddistributed£1,000intheformofdividends.Whatistheendingbalanceofowner’sequityonDec31,2018?