Prior to the Baby Boom, America was much like any other civilized country. We had multiple generations living under one roof, many industrialists making the lion's share of the money, and the working poor staying that way. Something changed with the second world war though.
The Deaths
So in looking at the lovely chart compiled by our friends at Wikipedia, you will note some statistical oddities. First, that Allied civilian deaths far outstrip military ones. That says something for how the Axis fought. Next, you will see that Axis military deaths far exceeded civilian ones. That says something about how we fought.
But this is all academic to the point. Due to our remote location, (relative to Europe) and our late entry to the war, and frankly our technological advantage, we lost relatively few people. The numbers to reference to see this are the deaths as a percentage of the country's 1939 population. Of all the major powers in the world, we lost the lowest percentage of our population.
This had an immediate impact on our country. (On a historic timeline). The low number of American civilian deaths, compared to the rest of the world players, meant that when the post-war world needed goods manufactured, we were the only ones left who could do the job. When the needs of the world outpaced our workforce, we effectively doubled it, by re-adding women. (They got a taste of the working world during the war and apparently enjoyed it)
Suddenly, (in historic terms), every generation was living separate from each other, there was the option for both partners to work, and a relatively high amount of wealth for working-class families, compared with the rest of the world. So in historic terms, what our grandparents, parents, and ourselves experienced was a brief period of unusually high prosperity.
WWII eliminated the competition, essentially. While I would not advocate the same method of doing this today; this is what we need to do, as a country. How do we put ourselves ahead? Unlike the mid-east we do not have a monopoly on a scarce good. Unlike China and India, we do not have so many laborers that it is cheaper to hand build, as opposed to automation. (Also we mostly enforce our environmental laws...) Our advantage is our inventiveness, When you take in all the ideas of the world, and put them together in one place, it is a natural fit. Yet, we are not the clear-cut technology leaders that we should be.
So here is my suggestion. The President (Obama as of the writing of this article) has recently suggested that community college be "Free". Again, that word is misused, but I have been shouting that same idea at anyone who can hear (and writing it down for those who can't) for decades. I would not limit this to community college, though. But there is one single condition...
The only taxpayer funded post secondary schooling you could get, would be things that benefit the country. (I know, that sounds socialist, but hear me out). No one is saying you can't get that degree in underwater basket-weaving, you just have to pay your own way. If you want Joe and Jane taxpayer to foot the bill, you need to pick a field in which there is either an essential need, or one that would improve the competitiveness of America, in the international market.
This would eliminate the need for protectionist policies, as it would draw business here. It would also provide a benefit to taxpayers. (unlike most government programs). Even those who can't, or who choose not to, go to college would benefit, as the available jobs would be better, due to the influx of manufacturing, and technology.
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Friday, June 22, 2012
College: What they didn't tell you.
So there you are. Freshman again. all set to reforge your identity to a more hip version of you. You will have been warned about the upperclassmen, the "freshman 20", and maybe even local spots to avoid. Mom and Dad just pulled away and its just you and your dormie. Unless, like me your broke ass went to community college for the first half, and walked 2 1/2 miles each way (Not kidding) because after tuition and books you had no money left for the bus, and damn sure not enough for a car.
No matter. The part that you were not warned about remains the same. I am looking for the most delicate way to phrase this, and I think I have found it. No one gives a shit. That's right, you heard it here first. The reason college kids act crazy, dress crazy, and generally do other stupid things is that suddenly they are confronted with a world where no one cares.
You are friends with everyone, and close To no one. Maybe you know what you want to be when you grow up, maybe you don't. Either way, no one cares. Talk to a counselor. They have no frickin idea what classes comprise your major. Don't care either. So you look it up yourself. They tell you you are wrong and need fewer credit hours than you thought. You trust them, after all they do this for a living. But guess what? They have no vested interest in you. Next time you go looking for a counselor, odds are it will be someone else you talk to. Either way you end up n school a semester, or two, longer than you should because of someone else's apathy.
The professors are a study in apathy. Unless you are flirty and they are the sort to take advantage. Then they care for as long as you put out. Otherwise, on the "give-a-crap-o-meter", you don't even register. Again, mostly because you will be gone a short time from now. You are just another blank face, hung over and not paying attention, who will bitch if you get less than an "A", even though we all know you deserve an "F". Colleges just push you through, so long as you pay. That professor came by their apathy the hard way. When they tried to fail one too many people who deserved it, and had a long talk about the effect failure rates have on funding, with a half-wit administrator who only sees you as dollar signs.
The exception of course is the gifted person. They care a lot about you, and keeping you in a major they teach. So they can take credit for/steal your work. That book isn't going to publish itself.
The overall tone is one of transience. You will move on soon enough. So college is a world where there are no consequences, and thus, no one cares.
The other thing they don't tell you is that there are consequences... but that is another post.
No matter. The part that you were not warned about remains the same. I am looking for the most delicate way to phrase this, and I think I have found it. No one gives a shit. That's right, you heard it here first. The reason college kids act crazy, dress crazy, and generally do other stupid things is that suddenly they are confronted with a world where no one cares.
You are friends with everyone, and close To no one. Maybe you know what you want to be when you grow up, maybe you don't. Either way, no one cares. Talk to a counselor. They have no frickin idea what classes comprise your major. Don't care either. So you look it up yourself. They tell you you are wrong and need fewer credit hours than you thought. You trust them, after all they do this for a living. But guess what? They have no vested interest in you. Next time you go looking for a counselor, odds are it will be someone else you talk to. Either way you end up n school a semester, or two, longer than you should because of someone else's apathy.
The professors are a study in apathy. Unless you are flirty and they are the sort to take advantage. Then they care for as long as you put out. Otherwise, on the "give-a-crap-o-meter", you don't even register. Again, mostly because you will be gone a short time from now. You are just another blank face, hung over and not paying attention, who will bitch if you get less than an "A", even though we all know you deserve an "F". Colleges just push you through, so long as you pay. That professor came by their apathy the hard way. When they tried to fail one too many people who deserved it, and had a long talk about the effect failure rates have on funding, with a half-wit administrator who only sees you as dollar signs.
The exception of course is the gifted person. They care a lot about you, and keeping you in a major they teach. So they can take credit for/steal your work. That book isn't going to publish itself.
The overall tone is one of transience. You will move on soon enough. So college is a world where there are no consequences, and thus, no one cares.
The other thing they don't tell you is that there are consequences... but that is another post.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
This is what lower standards buys us.
I am not, I repeat, not talking about politicians. I know, the title suggests it, but I assure you, I am talking about school.
Back in your grandparent's day, colleges and universities had entrance exams. Each college has it's own. In a time when a fourth grade education was enough to land you a job where a single income could support a family, college was something for the privileged few. If you couldn't pass the entrance exams your family better have enough money to donate a new science wing, or you didn't get in. This preserved the school's reputation, and kept out the people out who wouldn't pass anyway. There was rampant racism, and sexism. This was not a perfect system, as some of the best and the brightest were denied an education that could have benefited us all.
By the time our parents were of age to go to college there were more options. One could earn a "Basic liberal arts" degree, and land a good job based on this "qualification". Schools were still using tests, and there was some sexism, and some racism, but this was offset by affirmative action programs. Student loans were not yet the predominant method of paying for education.
By the time we get there, college is widely available, hideously expensive, and financed with loans. This is because the average tuition over the last few decades, has increased at four times the inflation rate. This is not simply adjusting to reflect the value of a dollar, nor is it merely covering costs.
Despite the number of colleges available to the average student, and the availability of an online option for nearly all of them, costs have risen. Let me see if I remember the law of supply and demand from school. Hmm... as supply increases, costs decrease?! That means that colleges are somehow immune to supply and demand.
Since the 40's there has been more than a six-fold increase in the number of people attaining four-year degrees; and many more college choices, and yet the cost of each degree is RISING, relative to inflation. (http://www.realonlinedegrees.com/us-education-attainment-from-1940-2008/) This means that the people who are obtaining degrees are not merely the rich or gifted, as it was historically. Rather, the defining characteristic of a college graduate today is the willingness to bankrupt themselves with student loans. Intellect has little to do with it anymore.
Since we have lower admission requirements, we needed to lower the difficulty of obtaining a degree. That cheapens the value of each degree. With a degree worth less, the earning potential of a graduate is less, relative to where it was in the past. Still better to have a degree than not, but it no longer makes you anything special.
Forget a national healthcare program. Let's work on "free" education, based on ability, for as long as someone cares to pursue it. (you can even use the same arguments, "It's a right", "They do it in Europe successfully", etc...) We need to prioritize education. Actual education. We are currently importing engineers, and are churning out business majors. Which of those innovates? Which of those creates new products? Which of those drives economies? And which one: "Collaboratively synergizes new opportunities, while leveraging market position for maximum stockholder value"?
(Can you smell that?)
Back in your grandparent's day, colleges and universities had entrance exams. Each college has it's own. In a time when a fourth grade education was enough to land you a job where a single income could support a family, college was something for the privileged few. If you couldn't pass the entrance exams your family better have enough money to donate a new science wing, or you didn't get in. This preserved the school's reputation, and kept out the people out who wouldn't pass anyway. There was rampant racism, and sexism. This was not a perfect system, as some of the best and the brightest were denied an education that could have benefited us all.
By the time our parents were of age to go to college there were more options. One could earn a "Basic liberal arts" degree, and land a good job based on this "qualification". Schools were still using tests, and there was some sexism, and some racism, but this was offset by affirmative action programs. Student loans were not yet the predominant method of paying for education.
By the time we get there, college is widely available, hideously expensive, and financed with loans. This is because the average tuition over the last few decades, has increased at four times the inflation rate. This is not simply adjusting to reflect the value of a dollar, nor is it merely covering costs.
Despite the number of colleges available to the average student, and the availability of an online option for nearly all of them, costs have risen. Let me see if I remember the law of supply and demand from school. Hmm... as supply increases, costs decrease?! That means that colleges are somehow immune to supply and demand.
Since the 40's there has been more than a six-fold increase in the number of people attaining four-year degrees; and many more college choices, and yet the cost of each degree is RISING, relative to inflation. (http://www.realonlinedegrees.com/us-education-attainment-from-1940-2008/) This means that the people who are obtaining degrees are not merely the rich or gifted, as it was historically. Rather, the defining characteristic of a college graduate today is the willingness to bankrupt themselves with student loans. Intellect has little to do with it anymore.
Since we have lower admission requirements, we needed to lower the difficulty of obtaining a degree. That cheapens the value of each degree. With a degree worth less, the earning potential of a graduate is less, relative to where it was in the past. Still better to have a degree than not, but it no longer makes you anything special.
Forget a national healthcare program. Let's work on "free" education, based on ability, for as long as someone cares to pursue it. (you can even use the same arguments, "It's a right", "They do it in Europe successfully", etc...) We need to prioritize education. Actual education. We are currently importing engineers, and are churning out business majors. Which of those innovates? Which of those creates new products? Which of those drives economies? And which one: "Collaboratively synergizes new opportunities, while leveraging market position for maximum stockholder value"?
(Can you smell that?)
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