(Michigan's Governor) is asking the GOP-led Legislature to swiftly authorize tuition-free community college or technical training for nontraditional students — those 25 and older without an associate's or bachelor's degree. Source
"Free" tuition is a cornerstone issue for progressives. What is there not to like?
I can think of a few things.
Any time you have carve-outs you create winners and losers.
Why would anybody enter into a community college or go into technical training at age 23 or 24? If they wait just a little while they can go for free!
Two things will happen because of that. Some will put their lives on hold and become life-time slackers. Others will tread water for one, two or more years and enter college only to learn that they are not college material.
Time value of money suggests that this will be extremely expensive for them. They pissed away years of their lives.
Another group of people who will be gouged are those who matriculated with worthless four year degrees. Shouldn't they have a shot at lucrative technical degrees? It is not as if $40k in student loans and a BA in Dance Science gave them anything salable.
Wouldn't it be better to target tech ed programs (where the jobs are). Invest the money in facilities and to lower lab fees (Kubota paid over $200 in lab fees for a welding class due to the materials consumed) so more people can afford to go regardless of whether they are "left behinds" or not?
As for "free tuition" community college, do we really need more students with degrees in psychology? It is a safe bet that 9% of the students tapping "free tuition" will be in psychology and social sciences programs.
And it is not "free", at least not to the tax payers. It is expensive. And if students don't care enough to put some of their own skin in the game then I don't see why I should have to pay
Raising taxes, spending more money for feel-good programs that hurt the recipients. No wonder progressives love "free" tuition.
Anything .gov says is 'free' will fit in that analysis. Every program is tax-payer funded doesn't matter what it is education, health care, welfare... Nothing is 'free'.
ReplyDeleteThey should bring back the Civilian Conservation Corp. Make service mandatory post graduation of high school (or at the age of 18) for 2 to 3 years of service. All will go through a military boot camp. Participants would learn structure, routine, respect, leadership, and skill sets. These efforts would be used to serve the state that they live in at a city, county, state, and country level for repair and rebuilding of infrastructures, serving the community, and helping the poor. After time has been served, they could continue on in their learned trade, go to any college
ReplyDeletewithin the state, or continue service into the military. This could cause a lot of change within the current system of how we do things, especially with education and those administrators in education.
They should bring back the Civilian Conservation Corp. Make service mandatory post graduation of high school (or at the age of 18) for 2 to 3 years of service. All will go through a military boot camp. Participants would learn structure, routine, respect, leadership, and skill sets. These efforts would be used to serve the state that they live in at a city, county, state, and country level for repair and rebuilding of infrastructures, serving the community, and helping the poor. After time has been served, they could continue on in their learned trade, go to any college
ReplyDeletewithin the state, or continue service into the military. This could cause a lot of change within the current system of how we do things, especially with education and those administrators in education.
I see it differently. The days of repetitive motion manufacturing are done and soon, if not now, you are going to need the equivalent of a PhD in quantum mechanics just to get a job. 30% of the economy is already based on quantum mechanics. Fewer and fewer people are going to be able to work as the need for the 'cognitive elite' rises. People with an IQ of 80, or less, are already excluded from the military. For an economy to advance, investment in people and education will be needed.A great deal of talent is wasted now because the poor have been excluded. Also, we are no where near getting the full potential of people because of culture, a lack of understanding of how to assist people, and out right rigging of the system. Changing the culture, as the recent culture wars have suggested, may be the hardest part.
ReplyDelete