Right wing demagogues who are trying to promote an oligarchic society in our country are decrying attempts to make college education affordable for all potential students. They don't want people to know that we were much closer to that coal in the 1950s.
I began my college education at Florida State University in 1955 with no fiscal support from my parents, savings from a summer job, a 1-year $400 scholarship, and a 4-year $400 scholarship. With that and with some work during the school year, I completed by bachelor's program without debt. Granted, I did not live "high on the hog." I had to male choices between cigarettes, beer, and food, and lost 35 pounds in my first semester (but that was okay as I entered college some 40 to 50 pounds overweight).
The fact is that Republicans and their ideology have resulted in a significant decline in the real wages of people, adjusted for inflation. and a real decline in the living standard of the vast majority of our people. At the same time, he costs of tuition, room, and board at colleges have mushroomed enormously. For most of our students, college is no longer affordable without huge debt.
The culture which fails to invest in its human capital is a culture of fools. Economic studies estimate that up to 40 percent of economic growth in the 1950s and 1960s was due to development of human capital through the G.I. Bill for our many World War II Veterans
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5 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.All very interesting responses to a good post. I saw in one response the word "qualified" used in relation to "free" college. Depending on how you feel about that, it makes great sense, or, it's the antithesis of "equality". To me, since I believe that "nothing is free", I'd say that I'm more than willing to chip in and subsidize a college education for someone who stands a very good chance of graduating with a useful-to-society skill. But how you'd determine that success probability and then, define what is useful, is not something I'd care to attempt.
bigpawbullets
Level 9
Feb 7, 2019
0
I think that we are in basic agreement. I do not call for a "free" college education -- only for a capable student to have the opportunity for a college education by working hard and be able to complete a college education without being saddled with debt when he or she graduates.
I agree. My doctorate cost me $200,000 and I'll be paying it off forever. Its a choice I made. But young people embarking on a new career will look at those costs and decide against pursuing a professional career. We may, down the line, loose some of our most valuable minds because of this.
Republicans have vociferously declared an abhorrence of advanced education. They would prefer other countries dictate our future by removing us intellectually from the rest of the world.
t1nick
Level 8
Feb 7, 2019
1
Registered republicans are not a very educated group. Those republicans leaving the party to register as independents are college educated by and large. They don't want an educated electorate. What is funny, before civil rights legislation, it was the other way around. Those Dixiecrats left the Democrats, and ran to the republicans.
Sticks48
Level 9
Feb 7, 2019
2
We were the first to land a man on the moon...unless we can fuel the brains of the future, we stand to lose a lot of ground in all sorts of areas from literature to science..
thinktwice
Level 8
Feb 7, 2019
3
Almost all institutions, including Ivy League, offer online degrees and classes for free, or almost free.
Also students can earn high wages as machinist apprentices, with no college debt, high starting salaries, and many jobs in that sector that go begging.
birdingnut
Level 8
Feb 7, 2019
0
@Maindawg As the cannabis laws change, that shouldn't be a problem for long. However, one's coordination becomes compromised when using it, as certain muscles might contract more slowly than others. I take a lot of high THC cannabis oil for cancer, and I have to pay attention, or I start dropping things, and sometimes find that I am unsteady.
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