College is a Scam!

[Avalux]

Yep; Faux News says so. They claim that college grads don't really make any more than those with just a high school diploma, and most don't work in their field of study anyway. Did you know 17% of bartenders have college degrees? They paid all that money for nothing!!

In fact, John Stossel gave a heartfelt account of how he encouraged his son to NOT go to college because the kid isn't ready. He told the faithful viewers that it's a damn shame parents FORCE their kids to go to college when they aren't ready or don't have any idea what they want to do. It's just not fair to the poor kids to put that kind of pressure on them.

So why....why would Faux News be promoting such an idea?

Could it be because the ratio of college educated Democrats to Republicans is 7:1?

_______________________________

Uneducated Americans + Misinformation = Republican Control

[chrisa]

1. College has been proven to be economically worth it

Time and time again, though, there will be some troglodytes like Limbaugh or Beck that come out and say that college is a "scam." Well, yes, maybe it is if you go to a $50,000 / year mediocre school. However, even then, you would probably break even from if you never got a degree.

Unless, of course, if you learn a trade through trade school, but that's still college.

[AngryAmish]

32. You confuse correllation with causation

Smarter people go to college. Smarter people earn more money. The causation there is the problem.

Under our current legal system it is illegal to give people IQ tests in order to hire or promote (racial disparate impact). So employers have to look to education. A college degree means you are smart (can't be a dummy and get into U of I) and have some stick-to-itness.

You don't need a college degree to sell insurance. But employers don't want dummies, so they only hire college grads.

[Ninjaneer]

2. "Could it be because the ratio of college educated Democrats to Republicans is 7:1"

Do you have a source for this? I trust you, I would just like it for future usage of my own.

TY in advance :hi:

[Avalux]

8. That ratio was scrolling at the bottom of Faux....but I did find this....

http://www.watchblog.com/democrats/archives/005153.html

The dumber we are, the more likely we are to vote Republican. That’s a fact. Indisputable and irrefutable. Ok, Im being deliberately provocative and I fully recognize that the country has many, many smart Republicans. But the figures don’t lie - voters in blue states (2004 Presidential election) are on the whole smarter than voters in red states. So I pose the question at the end of this analysis: why?

more...

[Recursion]

9. Well, wait

The Republicans in blue states are on average better educated than the Democrats in red states. It's not quite that simple.

[Avalux]

15. You're right it's not....

Since I posted I've been researching. So why would Faux News float the 7:1 stat? They're so devious it makes my head hurt.

[Aerows]

21. I'm a Democrat in a red state

and I'm very well educated. I'd like to see some statistics before I agree with you, because I know some very well educated Democrats in my red state. It could be that I tend to associate with other well-educated people, but I've met plenty of functionally illiterate Republicans in this state.

[malaise]

3. Makes sense

7:1 - Fox would rather keep people away from knowledge.

[MadHound]

4. Sadly there are some folks around here who would agree with him. n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

30. Yes. n/t

[buddysmellgood]

5. College is fine but many kids could benefit from working a few years before going to college.

[shraby]

10. They could benefit, but how many kids who defer college

get there after a few years? Most who wait, tend to get on with their lives and end up with a family instead of a college education.

[buddysmellgood]

23. The statistics need to be broken down by degree. Some are more valuable

than others. Lots of kids in college are wasting their time and should be in a two-year program.

[JCMach1]

19. College has gone up so much that working and saving to go isn't a realistic option any more,

nor is the work your way through college mantra...

[no_hypocrisy]

6. College generally leads to better-paying jobs than jobs w/o on the proviso you can find a job.

[buddysmellgood]

24. ...find a job in your field or a related field.

[mopinko]

7. it spreads hopelessness. nt

[RKP5637]

11. College is certainly worth it if one takes the correct curriculum. Often kids

in college aren't sure what they want to be and take courses that do not lead to gainful employment. If one wants employment after college they need to take courses/degrees that lead to that, if that is not of a concern then take what one wants. And for a lot of kids today there are excellent vocational/trade schools.

[woo me with science]

13. I thought you were going to say that kids take fluff classes that don't really educate them.

I hate to see colleges turned into vocational schools. There is a benefit to having a well-rounded education. The lack of knowledge of history, math, economics, etc. in this country is astounding and at root of how easily people are led to vote against their own interests.

[RKP5637]

16. Yep, I agree! That's my background, a very well-rounded liberal arts education

which also included the sciences, physics, math and chemistry + 4 years of tech school after that. ... but that was in the old days when things were cheaper.
I don't want to see colleges turned into vocational schools either. Both college and vocational schools are routes to very fulfilling lives, careers and pay. The big difference today IMO is kids really have to think out ahead of time where they want to be.

[Chiyo-chichi]

20. William Cronon:

"Liberal education is built on these values: it aspires to nurture the growth of human talent in the service of human freedom. So one very simple answer to my question is that liberally educated people have been liberated by their education to explore and fulfill the promise of their own highest talents."

--Cronon, "Only Connect... The Goals of a Liberal Education."

[woo me with science]

26. Thank you for posting that. nt

[Chiyo-chichi]

28. You are welcome.

Here's the whole essay if you're interested: http://www.williamcronon.net/writing/Cronon_Only_Connect.pdf

[buddysmellgood]

27. This is true in a society that values well-rounded individuals. We no longer do. We want

units that can feed the corporate machine. If you don't fit in that mold, you're going to work in the coffee shop.

[lumberjack_jeff]

31. 60% of people won't go to college.

Students need citizenship skills from high school.

A situation in which the universe grades you for your answers is more likely to foster independent thought than one in which a teacher does.

[buddysmellgood]

25. I agree.

[Kolesar]

12. 35 % 'puke / 28% Dem in 1996

http://people-press.org/1996/08/07/republicans/2/

Education
College Grad.       35 28 37 51 43 (2704) 
Some College        31 29 40 49 42 (2417) 
High School Grad.   29 32 39 45 46 (3481) 
Less than H.S. Grad 22 38 40 37 53 (993) 

[Skidmore]

14. What do you do when you have a bumper crop of new fledglings and not

enough jobs? You prolong their adolescence through education. College is a winnowing process that not all succeed at. We have a problem in that population consistently outstrips resources and available work.

[Stevenmarc]

17. Stossel just doesn't want to pay for a kid that's probably as dumb a a box of rocks

[JCMach1]

18. I do agree with him about the 'Ready' part... some kids just aren't mature enough

to get much out of the experience.

[Javaman]

22. Here it comes: the war on college!

Fox News: lowing the bar so everyone can understand!

[MatthewStLouis]

29. Make sure your kids know what they want to do before entering college!

I agree it is an extremely bad idea to go to college just because you don't know what else to do. No need in wasting thousands of dollars acquiring useless degrees. Figure out the kind of work you want to do then go get the degree required to do it.

[canoeist52]

33. Colleges have priced themselves out of reach of the middle class.

And banks, with their high interest rates, have helped them do it.

Higher education should be accessible to all regardless of income.

By the way, I have friends who paid for their kids' education with home-equity loans. They're near to losing their home because the wife lost her good-paying job and can't keep up with the payments.