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No you haven't. You set up a bunch of "what ifs" that, in your mind, "prove" it. Like working 60 hours a week.
You must not have read it the last five times I posted, so here it is again:
1970 Harvard tuition, room and board: $3,120
Minimum wage, 1970: $1.45
Our hypothetical minimum-wage earning Harvard student would need to work a full time job, and attend school. I'm not suggesting that this is easy or fun. But it is possible. And let's face it, the Harvard kid of 1970 is likely going to find a job in Boston that pays better than minimum wage. If it was me, I'd work more hours during the summer so I could ease off during semesters.
And if our hypothetical 1970 student doesn't like the idea of 40-hour weeks and classes, he or she can attend UNH (or any of the state universities) and pay less than $1,000 in tuition. (This student is on the hook for an apartment and food, because there was no on-campus housing at UNH until the 1980s.)
College was once an easy financial nut to crack. I am guessing that Boomers on this thread did not attend college, or they had it paid for them. Because I remember paying my own way. It wasn't all that long ago. And it wasn't particularly difficult. I'm not going to claim financial hardship or "tough times."
You must not have read it the last five times I posted, so here it is again:
1970 Harvard tuition, room and board: $3,120
Minimum wage, 1970: $1.45
Our hypothetical minimum-wage earning Harvard student would need to work a full time job, and attend school. I'm not suggesting that this is easy or fun. But it is possible. And let's face it, the Harvard kid of 1970 is likely going to find a job in Boston that pays better than minimum wage. If it was me, I'd work more hours during the summer so I could ease off during semesters.
And if our hypothetical 1970 student doesn't the idea of 40-hour weeks and classes, he or she can attend UNH (or any of the state universities) and pay less than $1,000 in tuition. (This student is on the hook for an apartment and food, because there was no on-campus housing at UNH until the 1980s.)
College was once an easy financial nut to crack. I am guessing that Boomers on this thread did not attend college, or they had it paid for them. Because I remember paying my own way. It wasn't all that long ago. And it wasn't particularly difficult. I'm not going to claim financial hardship or "tough times."
And I've read your "research". To expect a college kid, of any generation, to work a 60 hour week during the summer plus 25+ hours during the school year is an example of incredible obtuseness. Most colleges which have work-study programs limit the hours to 15.
And I've read your "research". To expect a college kid, of any generation, to work a 60 hour week during the summer plus 25+ hours during the school year is an example of incredible obtuseness. Most colleges which have work-study programs limit the hours to 15.
I worked more than 25 hours during the school year. Work the weekend and there's at least 16 hours taken care of, right there. I had both work-study, and a part-time job -- every semester, every year.
And I worked more than 40 hours during the summer. That isn't obtuse -- it's Bootstrapping 101. The only thing I DIDN'T do to pay for school was be a resident assistant. No amount of room and board reduction was worth that kind of headache.
And I maintained a respectable GPA while doing it. Anyone who is willing to put in that kind of effort should be able to have the same opportunity which I had. Doing what I did simply is not financially possible anymore. There aren't enough hours in a week to make it happen.
So basically what you're saying is, "We got ours on the cheap. And you kids can go pound sand."
All the money our government wastes, and we cannot find the funds to refinance student debt. Our priorities are hopelessly broken.
Refinancing student debt would be another government waste. All those useless degrees, that pay squat - should we be on the hook for that?
You're right about priorities, though. When having a piece of paper is more important than having an education, you'll see very few folks being able to earn a living.
Myth? How many tuition figures for various years that aren't 2015 do I need to roll out before it sinks in that not long ago, any student could pay for any public four-year university degree easily? I have even shown that the older Boomers could pay for an Ivy League education by waiting tables.
And this was during a time when a graduating high school student could get by in life with just a high school diploma.
We have raised both the educational bar and the price of admission. And we're suggesting that Millennials deal with it in the most indignant way possible. Hence, "Old Economy Steve."
College has never been cheap or easy for anyone but the upper middle class and above or those who had parents footing the bill.
But, since the percentage of the population holding a college degree has increased by about 10% from 1975 to 2012, its obviously not that much harder to accomplish whatever it costs.
To expect a college kid, of any generation, to work a 60 hour week during the summer plus 25+ hours during the school year is an example of incredible obtuseness. Most colleges which have work-study programs limit the hours to 15.
I'm gen X. That's what I did. Graduated debt free albeit a "4 year program" took me 6 years to complete. I'm no brain either.... quite average in school. Worked full time in between semesters to save up for the next.. sometimes taking a semester off to focus on work/saving. When I was in school, I took jobs that were more flexible for a student: bowling alley, computer help desk in the business school, computer support in the computer science lab... each with better pay.
But from what I see, its increasingly difficult to accomplish similar these days... that I will agree. Not impossible... but harder to accomplish without some financial help.
Refinancing student debt would be another government waste. All those useless degrees, that pay squat - should we be on the hook for that?
You're right about priorities, though. When having a piece of paper is more important than having an education, you'll see very few folks being able to earn a living.
My fathers elite private school adjusted for inflation is $9000 for room and board and he graduated in 1980. It now costs $50,000 A YEAR for just tuition. Guess what? He like many baby boomers majored in liberal arts and then worked in food and bev for a while until eventually launching a career a few years later. Now, if you dont have a job paying pretty well with your "typical" 30k in debt coming out of undergrad, you're forced to move back in with your parents. Hopefully they live in a strong job market and not some rural place without jobs or you're screwed. Then you can try and hope the military you to help repay debt if theyre even hiring. Average cost of medical school in 1990 was 40k. Now its closer to 200k.
We need to cut this student loan spigot off. These schools are spending like drunken sailors buying rock climbing walls, resort style dorms, paying assistant deans of one of each department 250k and giving them insane pensions. And the student loan companies aggressively lobby congress to make sure their product can't be written off in bankruptcy. A former CEO of Sallie Mae once made 500 million a year on the backs of students. As it stands now most of these schools/loan sharks are privatizing the gains and socializing the losses. Even worse default rates are now around 13%. And defaulted loans often have exorbitant fees added on, often totalling as much as 50% of the loan. Consequently, many lenders want defaults. Many people have paid more than the inital amount because of this and still barely made a dent in their debt.
Schools/lenders need skin in the game. If your loan default rate is 20% because your school product sucks you need to be on the hook for some of the defaulted debt. And being able to declare bankruptcy on debt that can't be repaid in 10 years based on salary calculations seems reasonable doesn't it (and don't tell me about that govt repayment 10 year plan as the last thing we need are more govt workers) it stands now IBR takes 20 years and leaves students with a tax bill for all forgiven debt at the end. All other forgiven debt is on the taxpayers. If a school is going to claim how rich their product will make you why shouldn't they be upheld to higher standards themselves? Also, if schools have skin in the game they will be better about proactively getting kids internships, and reducing the number of fluff classes people take, requiring kids to take at least a marketable minor etc. now you just get nonsense about following your dreams and handed a bill.
We need to talk to our politicians to reform this system before its too late.
Some of that "rock climbing walls" is market driven. Colleges for whatever reason have determined that going to college has to be an "experience" (like the survey I got from Safeway the other day asking about my shopping "experience". I went there to ****ing buy groceries, not be entertained.) My guess is that some of that is parent driven.
Baby Boomers went to college and lived in dorms, two people to a room with the bathroom down the hall with multiple showers and toilet stalls. Now students live in suites with their own bathrooms and kitchenettes. There's phone service in each room, no longer the pay phone down the hall beside the group bathroom. Cable and internet in each room.
It is not just loans but also states cutting funding to schools. More funding has been cut in the last seven to ten years that passes costs to keep campuses open on the students. Arizona and California both had these due to budget issues.
I cannot discuss or debate with anyone using "y'all" in a public forum. Trying to read your posts with the grammar and sentence structure issues gives me a headache. I trust you have not yet completed your education because an English Comp I class would not be a waste of time or money.
now you know how everyone else feels when they read your nonsense. dont like it? put me on ignore. i aint changing for u. stop judging everybody. i have nothing to prove to you and i dont give a damn about what you or anyone else thinks. shaming me cuz of my grmmer wont make me type gooder, kthxbye
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