[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', ' ') Way things are now, we can't ever have a small government, we can't ever have a balanced budget --

[seenmostofit]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote(' ', 'S')chools are probably part of the problem here, offering degrees in ridiculous things, just to collect a warm seat fee (sort of like airlines) and to keep their revenue up.

[PrestonSturges]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', ' ') Way things are now, we can't ever have a small government, we can't ever have a balanced budget --

[Plantagenet]

Look on the bright side, Preston.

The fanatical Obama-supporters who were going to college in 2008 have now turned into unemployed and underemployed college grads.

Being unemployed just gives 'em even more time to go out and campaign for Obama and the continuation of Obama's economic policies in 2012!

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PrestonSturges', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', ' ') Way things are now, we can't ever have a small government, we can't ever have a balanced budget --

[seenmostofit]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote(' ', 'S')chools are probably part of the problem here, offering degrees in ridiculous things, just to collect a warm seat fee (sort of like airlines) and to keep their revenue up.

[SeaGypsy]

B/S. Every second teen I know wants to be a friggin rapper, win Idol or be the next Facebook inventor. They live in a fantasy world.

[mmasters]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', ' ')to sum up:

1. As I've said before, we'll continue this descent downward as long as we're hooked into globalist free trade. Obama was in Colombia to make yet another free trade deal. There's no hope on this, Republicans and Democrats are both global free traders.

2. The US will continue to print cash to make up for the trade and jobs deficit. Government will do more. More people will depend on free money from the printing press. It all goes sour if the day comes that the world moves away from the dollar as reserve in favor of a basket of currencies which may or may not include the US dollar but still we're screwed if we can't print cash and count on the world to trade their currency for ours.

America only works at all because we have a de-facto tax on these other countries, they have all the trade and jobs advantage but the deal is they buy our dollars they we keep printing. If that stops, we have a big problem.

3. It's only central banking and global finance that keeps the US afloat, you could say the same for Europe too other than Germany. And so Republican budget cutters are WRONG. Way things are now, we can't ever have a small government, we can't ever have a balanced budget -- it's left to government to fill the holes left by the "giant sucking sound" of free trade.

For the Libertarian types out there who want sound money, balanced budgets, and a private-sector centric economy then we have to back out of globalist free trade before that can happen. It's impossible to have sound money with a trade deficit. Without central banking monetary games, a trade deficit naturally to collapse -- it's jut math.

Bottom line.. it's not like it used to be, if you have kids in college do whatever you can to persuade them to get a degree that will lead to employment. That means engineering, energy fields, hard sciences, or if not that then medical.

[seenmostofit]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SeaGypsy', 'B')/S. Every second teen I know wants to be a friggin rapper, win Idol or be the next Facebook inventor. They live in a fantasy world.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'T')he fanatical Obama-supporters who were going to college in 2008 have now turned into unemployed and underemployed college grads.

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'W')hen will someone start telling the truth? Before the US winds up looking like Mexico?

[FairMaiden]

I think Agent is painting with a broad brush and it's not accurate. Not everyone taking a creative writing degree is expecting to write a novel. That is his base assumption and it is only logical IF it is correct.

I know 3 ppl with that degree. One person writes brochures/web material for a non-profit. Another writes up boring reports in layman's terms for the technical field and the third got a journalism diploma on top of it to be a journalist.

I have always wondering why we have to waste time learning useless subjects in HS when we could be specializing right there. Obviously our education systems are completely inadequate if you need an extra 2-4 yrs to be a "logistics coordinator"...or what we used to call a warehouse clerk. I used to only go to school 2-3 days/week and even then it wasn't worth my time. Luckily, I stayed home and read lots of interesting things to keep myself engaged and learning. I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorists but I think this by design...not accident...

[jedrider]

Sixstrings, thanks for your analysis. I keep reading it over and over, hoping the wisdom and trenchant analysis will sick in

One daughter is already through college and enrolling in international business now. No science, math or engineering for her. There has to be someone with business savvy and people skills still

The other is still in middle school, so a bit of a ways to go still. College is not the automatic pass that it once was for our generation -- 1954 BD for me. However, it is still a 'rite of passage'. Bypassing college for a trade or practical experience is fine. Good luck with that, though, with fewer opportunities presenting themselves

College as a rite of passage is just not going away. The concept of getting deep in debt over it, however, must be evaluated for it doesn't really make sense except for very few occupations (lawyer, medicine, engineering, ??).