Ekdog

I'm a little busy at the moment, but I'll have a look at the video later.

You should be able to get a degree without going into debt. I think we agree on that.

tjax

If it's done properly, and with some sacrifice or you have a job that will do financial reimbursement. Of which is my current opportunity. So I am going to ride out my education at the expense of my job for as long as I can, and hopefully it will lead to a degree. Unfortunately those opportunities are fewer. A kid right out of high school is taught how to get into debt for schooling not how to make life work for them. Sure it might take a few years, or military service to get to somewhere where you don't have to spend anything, but why do we push the debt so much? I think student loans are another form of predatory lending.

agent pombero

University education should be free. College in america IS a scam.

We're going to live in such an amazing world where nobody can discuss history, literature, or speak in multiple languages.

And do you think that once everybody becomes the B.S degree holder that they too will be able to find jobs?

Those opportunities hardly exist anymore. There is a reason 2/3 of college students in America take out student loans.

The statistics don't lie: life doesn't work for you if you don't graduate from college.

All the while tuition goes up 10% every year.




+ 10000

locolobo13 

There's an old saying, " All the traffic will bear." Why is education so high? Because people will pay it. Is it worth it? Not so sure nowadays.

Astrozombie

Think i heard tuition has gone up 1000% in the last 20-30 years, income has skyrockets for the top % as well but the average joe is still making the same wages.

agent pombero

And what is more: many students need to pull loans out for living expenses (rent, food) because nowadays it is impossible for that PT job to cover the expenses along with tuition, fees, and books.

Roody

If you want a college education, I would start by paying less attention to these conspiracy theorists on YouTube. Did you notice that they exaggerate the facts quite a lot?

Although it is a lot more expensive than it used to be, and may entail taking on some risk, millions of middle class Americans are still graduating from college. A degree is not a ticket to success, but for many people it will help them to find a satisfying career.

charbucks

I'm glad to hear that you support increased taxation for the benefit of the greater good. Also, if university education were free, we could adopt more stringent entrance requirements and get rid of some of the students that expect a degree because they paid for it. Sadly, they're proven right all too often...

CarFreeFam4

The stipend is not subject to FICA withholding, and we are low income enough that we don't pay any federal income tax. Adding another $12k per year isn't going to change that. We have no state income tax. The education award isn't taxed until the year you use it. Not a big fan of working under the table. On a moral level, I suppose it's not a whole lot worse than what I'm up to here (accepting a lower paying 'job' in order to maintain a level of benefits) but the legality of it gets to me. I'm the sort of person who reports the $150 I earned for feeding my aunt's cats when she travels. I've run the numbers a million ways to Sunday, and despite the pay being 30% less than a FT job at minimum wage, at the end of the year we have more money to save.

agent pombero

Student Loan Bubble So Big It’s Trumping Credit Cards as a Spending Driver

[h=3]Bryce Covert: Recession Has Lit the Fuse on Explosive Student Debt[/h]

tjax

I think we will see the magnitude of that scope in the near future. A formal college is not the ONLY answer to getting paid decently. I make more than the average middle class American, and I did it by accepting all job related opportunities presented to me, and making sure that my work stands out. Than when I started bring in more money than what I needed, I put it to good use with certifications in my field. Which only provided more money to my pocket. The idea that a degree is the end all to a better life is ludicrous. People like me who have a drive to get somewhere WILL get there.

Ekdog

https://images.huffingtonpost.com/201...11.52.53AM.png

Roody

I agree, and never said otherwise. I said a college degree would help many find a decent career. I didn't say all or even most.

Roody

According to that chart, wouldn't take long to pay for a college education.

agent pombero

They ask me to pull myself up by the bootstraps...but I have no boots.

For every one of you there are at least 500 who are living on the margins, just scraping by, eeking out a living like a picaro in 16th cent. Spain.

tjax

And a degree changes that?

tjax

I am not against having a degree I am against the monstrosity of a debt one obtains from persuing a degree. Hence why I never got one. If I had teh money I would have a doctorates in something. I just merely figured out another way to accomplish my financial goals. Which OBVIOUSLY proves that you can do it without a degree.

Roody

I've noticed that most self made people won't admit that luck, good fortune, and assistance/support of others played at least a small part in their success.

agent pombero

You are an outlier, tjax. Most without an education are not in your position.

agent pombero

yeah, I've noticed that too. And let us not forget the role that gender/race potentially had on their success.

tjax

Ah but I have an education from on the job training, and certifications. I just don't have letters after my name from proving something. Being a network engineer has more to do with understanding complex technicalities than it does having a piece of paper on your name.

The company I work for is hiring MANY people to climb towers for 25/hr. TO CLIMB CELL PHONE TOWERS. WITHOUT A DEGREE or ANY previous work knowledge, and they will pay for your government mandated training.

I am educated but not in a way society wants it done. My coworkers don't have degrees in this field. One in history, and one in psychology. Just ends up the money was better in IT.

tjax

Oh you mean the COUNTLESS hours I spent with my nose in the books on technical diagrams, network theory and etc etc etc. Programming, forensic analysis, plant configurations, cell structure and etc??? What role model forced me to do these things? None, I had a willingness to learn, and lets face it those who don't work for minimum wage.

tjax

Oh teh cell phone tower jobs. No one will take them because they are "inconvenient" to work odd hours. Are you frikkin kidding me? People can't pay their bills and they turn down a $25/hr job to climb a cell phone tower? With no experience. Come on.... So the company struggles because they can't find someone who wants to work for a living.

agent pombero

Yes. Because people working minimum wage just want to eeek by. Having a job working at minimum wage is no reflection on the employee so much as it is the employer: they are greedy money suckers who would pay their employees even less if it were legal.

Some of Americas hardest, nastiest jobs are minimum wage. Are those people just slackers?

agent pombero

Some people like myself would never be able to do that job. Fear of heights. Panic attacks. Would you want me to have a panic attack on a cell tower?