More on algebra

“The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a “two-tier labor market” in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households.”  CIA world factbook 2011
   The middle class has been losing economic status for considerably longer than just the current lost decade although the last few years have sped this condition to a crises point. And as Dr. Warren and others have noted the uneasy status of the middle class over the last generation has been held by debt rather than appropriate increases in real income.
    As M. Selingo and other researchers indicate one element which has allowed a certain portion of the middle class some stability, has been then value of the college education.
  However the advantages gained by collegiate education are rapidly receding, this is obviously due to the decline in real income combined with the incredible rise in tuition & debt. Essentially what we have done with the increases in tuition is to collapse the ability of a college degree to be a stable element towards creating middle class stability. The 50% increases in college costs since 1990 (of which some 50%+ is paid for by loans)* has combined with the generational losses in real middle class income producing a situation where a college degree is becoming a losing situation and a fools game. (*CEPR Boushey)
And when the laws regarding student debt are considered, especially since these draconian debt laws are perhaps the penultimate example of crony capitalism it is not surprising there is a very angry generation out there, and one of the predominate causes of this anger is education, its tolls, and the fact that those years of study may not do any good.
  The genuine tragedy of it all is that this toxic mess need not have happened. If the US had developed a model of direct educational support for both students and academe rather than funneling billions through various lenders both the middle class and academe would not be on the brink. But since we allowed this shell game to occur, and now have a trillion plus dollars in student debt, a middle class on the brink, and academe improperly supported despite all the debt-it may be time for serious reforms.

I’d like to know where you can get a college education and 4 year degree for $25,000

Are colleges and universities preparing students for careers that no longer exist?  Are the courses obsolete?  Not everyone is destined to be an engineer or a nurse – two career choices that still offer opportunities.  Even teaching is no longer a safe choice, with school districts chopping budgets to the bone.  What are students supposed to do?  Go into decades-long debt for a degree that turns out to be worthless in the marketplace?  Answers, please. 

I have two kids in college and I’m a firm believer in higher education the lifelong benefits of a college degree. Absolutely. However, after “shopping” around for schools, I’m stunned by the over-built, extravagant campus buildings, grounds and facilities that I saw at almost every school…and we went to many, many schools. With graduation rates falling every year (why in the US?), kids coming out in a depressed economy where paying their loan will be much tougher, how is it that schools feel they can continue raising rates on kids and parents?….and, then many turn around and build monstrous, over-the-top facilities. This is like CEOs giving themselves huge raises while their company and investors slide into the abyss. If you don’t do the job well, you shouldn’t get a raise…and then remodel your mansion. I think soul-searching is totally in order. Come on, we can do better. I’d make a plan before the market makes it for you.