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Anyone ever wonder what the true unemployment number in CT would be if they did NOT count jobs that did not play a living wage? A living wage defined as median one month rent of 1 bedroom apartment being 30% of gross income?(so about 65k a year in stamford for 40 hours a week) Keep dangling that college carrot at people, but the reality is we are in a service economy. So if everyone goes to college to learn basically b.s. they'll never use, than not only are they in debt, but it also costs tax payers a fortune since their education is also funded by tax payers. 23k a year for a uconn student/43k out of state. Oh yeah and after all that cost, then they can get a service job? Does this make sense to anyone? Vast majority of jobs available are service jobs. Check out how old some of the people working at walmart and other establishments are. It's not just a job for a 17 year old hs student. Time to pay a living wage/get rent under control/reduce number of jobs requiring college and let hs graduates apply and work their way up like they used to
"So if everyone goes to college to learn basically b.s. they'll never use......."
I am not an economic genius but I would not go to college, invest in a "B.S." education and expect to get a high paying job. I would study STEM subjects and healthcare etc. It would also be better to get an associate degree or higher education in a technical/mechanical skilled trade (as my husband did) even though it is hard work and not glamorous. Most skilled tradesman are making more money than the people who are graduating college with the "B.S." degrees.
The power to chart or change your life is actually in the individuals hands.
"Time to pay a living wage/get rent under control/reduce number of jobs requiring college"
Supply and demand takes care of what you wrote in bold.
"So if everyone goes to college to learn basically b.s. they'll never use......."
I am not an economic genius but I would not go to college, invest in a "B.S." education and expect to get a high paying job. I would study STEM subjects and healthcare etc. It would also be better to get an associate degree or higher education in a technical/mechanical skilled trade (as my husband did) even though it is hard work and not glamorous. Most skilled tradesman are making more money than the people who are graduating college with the "B.S." degrees.
The power to chart or change your life is actually in the individuals hands.
"Time to pay a living wage/get rent under control/reduce number of jobs requiring college"
Supply and demand takes care of what you wrote in bold.
Supply and demand isn't working for the working poor and is causing less upward mobility. Too much income at the top. Refusal to pay living wages to people. Most college degree's are bull****. You need it to get the job, not to do the job. You shouldn't be going into healthcare for the money and if everyone goes into that field it will quickly become saturated and then people won't be able to find a job. It simply comes down to not enough descent paying jobs and too many people fighting for them.
"Most college degree's are bull****. You need it to get the job, not to do the job."
Reread my post about mechanical, technical and skilled trade jobs that most young people today think are beneath them.
"Still, California Steel is struggling to fill 18 openings. While these workers don't need college degrees, they need at least two years of specialized training plus strong math, reading and writing skills."
I am just curious, what specific degrees do you think are "BS" but you still need them to get the job?
Example: If you are going for an accounting job you need a degree in accounting so in my mind that is not a "BS" degree. If you are going for a job in computer science I would think a computer science degree is not "BS".
But here is the thing. If there are 400,000 people who graduated with a social science degree and only 100,000 jobs available in that field then the "supply and demand" is going to kick in, and yes you will be fighting for those jobs.
I am wondering when all the young kids these days are looking into college, does the college give specifics about the demand of that particular degree? If not the young people should educate themselves. I certainly would not pay $100,000 for a degree if I only had a 25% chance of getting a job in that field.
"Most college degree's are bull****. You need it to get the job, not to do the job."
Reread my post about mechanical, technical and skilled trade jobs that most young people today think are beneath them.
"Still, California Steel is struggling to fill 18 openings. While these workers don't need college degrees, they need at least two years of specialized training plus strong math, reading and writing skills."
I am just curious, what specific degrees do you think are "BS" but you still need them to get the job?
Example: If you are going for an accounting job you need a degree in accounting so in my mind that is not a "BS" degree. If you are going for a job in computer science I would think a computer science degree is not "BS".
But here is the thing. If there are 400,000 people who graduated with a social science degree and only 100,000 jobs available in that field then the "supply and demand" is going to kick in, and yes you will be fighting for those jobs.
I am wondering when all the young kids these days are looking into college, does the college give specifics about the demand of that particular degree? If not the young people should educate themselves. I certainly would not pay $100,000 for a degree if I only had a 25% chance of getting a job in that field.
I think we're confusing education and training.
A college education is designed to make people better problem solvers, more analytical, better understand the contexts of society and media and better communicators. These skills are beneficial in almost any job, environment, and community.
I have one of those "non-bs" degrees-- computer science. Yet some of the best programmers I have met didn't graduate high school. However, the "training component" of my CS degree is hardly used today. What has become important are my writing, communication and business skills I learned through the electives and liberal arts classes I took at the University. These classes actually counted for the majority of my degree. (My university is one of the few to have a BA in Computer Science giving the option for more liberal arts and electives.).
You're right-- too many people are going to college and too many jobs require a degree that shouldn't. These facts don't diminish the value of a college education, however.
A college education is designed to make people better problem solvers, more analytical, better understand the contexts of society and media and better communicators. These skills are beneficial in almost any job, environment, and community.
I have one of those "non-bs" degrees-- computer science. Yet some of the best programmers I have met didn't graduate high school. However, the "training component" of my CS degree is hardly used today. What has become important are my writing, communication and business skills I learned through the electives and liberal arts classes I took at the University. These classes actually counted for the majority of my degree. (My university is one of the few to have a BA in Computer Science giving the option for more liberal arts and electives.).
You're right-- too many people are going to college and too many jobs require a degree that shouldn't. These facts don't diminish the value of a college education, however.
You know it's bad when a mcdonalds in Massachusetts was requiring a bachelor's degree for a cashier. LOL I'm not joking. Read it on the news. And a college degree doesn't necessarily make someone more logical or a better thinker! I think genetics is the biggest determining factor of that. Just look at those great phd thinkers that led us to the war in Iraq. They were academics that lacked the common sense that the average Islamic person in the middle east hates anyone who isn't a Muslim. That the entire region has a culture similar to Nazi Germany that is constantly being fed propaganda by their government and media outlets. How could they fail to see something so obvious with their advanced degree's? They were going to cheer on the infidel? Oh and to be clear I'm not anti semetic against Muslims. I'm just not blind to the current culture over there. Sort of like Japanese kamikaze's believing the emperor is god. Religious fanaticism is the real problem. Not Saddam Hussein. You can't have freedom till you deal with that.
Most people don't have a firm grasp of 7th grade life science. Ask someone what the mitochondria do inside a cell or to explain atp phoshate cycle in basic terms. Ask someone why we have a separation of church and state. We don't even teach civics classes/political science in hs. Wouldn't that be more important than studying/memorizing lines from Shakespeare? How exactly does having someone memorize old English help society? It's total busy work. It's like digging ditches and then refilling them. Then digging them up again! Wouldn't it better to teach these students what can lead to genocide? A basic understanding of history so we can learn from past mistakes? If you stopped trying to fill the minds of our young people with too many facts and kept it basic then we would have a more educated society.
Only so many people can get a computer science degree. You should be entering a field you have an interest in. Not just for money. Computer science= interested in math/math whiz. Lot of rambling for a simple fact. A 40 hour week job doing anything should make you enough money to pay rent/get a compact car and be able to pay your bills in the richest country in the world. Not much to ask.
"A 40 hour week job doing anything should make you enough money to pay rent/get a compact car and be able to pay your bills in the richest country in the world. Not much to ask."
Are you talking about a single person?
When I was young there were entire adult families of 4-5 that shared one or two cars. Many families in the 60's & 70's were only able to afford a home because every person in the family worked at some sort of job and contributed to the household. Also most young people who were single could not afford to have thier own apartment and shared apartments & houses, cars or took the bus. I believe back in the 60's and 70's America was the richest country in the world so that is still the same.
Mikelizard,
I am just curious. What age group are you in.......
20-30
30-40
40-50
After you answer that question I am going to tell you what my dad told me and what my husband's dad told him about "doing anything" you wanted for a job and expecting to have what others have. My husband and I are both in our 50's.
"A 40 hour week job doing anything should make you enough money to pay rent/get a compact car and be able to pay your bills in the richest country in the world. Not much to ask."
Are you talking about a single person?
When I was young there were entire adult families of 4-5 that shared one or two cars. Many families in the 60's & 70's were only able to afford a home because every person in the family worked at some sort of job and contributed to the household. Also most young people who were single could not afford to have thier own apartment and shared apartments & houses, cars or took the bus. I believe back in the 60's and 70's America was the richest country in the world so that is still the same.
Mikelizard,
I am just curious. What age group are you in.......
20-30
30-40
40-50
After you answer that question I am going to tell you what my dad told me and what my husband's dad told him about "doing anything" you wanted for a job and expecting to have what others have. My husband and I are both in our 50's.
How do you know I'm not over 50? lol My age is irrelevant.
Expecting to be able to afford to put a roof over your head in the richest country in the world when working a full time job is a reasonable expectation.
You could get a job as a police officer at 18 in the 60's and 70s.(and there weren't a thousand applicants for every one position) There was a manufacturing job base that has been completely decimated. Rents were way lower. Middle class could afford nyc. College was not needed to be able to making a living. If you did have a degree then you were making bank. Minimum wage has not kept up with inflation. Cost of living has gone sky high relative to income. You're a baby boomer. You have created a society where people become adults later in life so you can feel younger and people need to rely on parents longer and longer. That is reality. You're the one generation that can't say we left a better/easier life for our youth. You had it better than your children. You're missing the overall politics of the situation and personalizing it to me. I have my own place that I can afford. It's not relevant to me. Oh and if you go back to the 50's and even 60's/early 70's somewhat then ONE person usually supported an entire household. Women entered the workforce and now it takes two people working full time to pull in the same amount to stay afloat. We are going in circles here. You just want to talk "tough" and sound "tough". Reality is either way we are in the grave at the end. So it would make sense to make life as enjoyable as possible. Sort of like universal healthcare. We actually have idiots talking out against it. It's the best thing to happen to working folk since insituting the 40 hour week during the fdr's new deal. Every single other first world country has it. Hell Canada pays less for their universal healthcare system than we pay just for medicare per capita. And they have no health insurance up there. They have no medical bills. You get a card from the government and you're covered. Do the police ask you for a police insurance card when you call 911? LOL It's a public safety matter. Maybe we'll privatize police next and make people buy police insurance. Have you looked at the number of people working at mcdonalds/walmart that are on welfare? We are subsidizing these companies so they can pay dirt low wages. And that doesn't even include other government money/grants these companies get. Hell powder ridge in ct got over 500k just from state of ct! Oh and "small business" is really a misnomer. Anyone know the liquid capital requirements to buy ONE mcdonalds franchise? 2 million in CASH. Hardly call that a small mom and pops operation, yet they have way less than 50 employees(at one franchise)
Last edited by mikelizard860; 01-19-2014 at 10:44 AM..
How do you know I'm not over 50? lol My age is irrelevant.
Expecting to be able to afford to put a roof over your head in the richest country in the world when working a full time job is a reasonable expectation.
You could get a job as a police officer at 18 in the 60's and 70s.(and there weren't a thousand applicants for every one position) There was a manufacturing job base that has been completely decimated. Rents were way lower. Middle class could afford nyc. College was not needed to be able to making a living. If you did have a degree then you were making bank. Minimum wage has not kept up with inflation. Cost of living has gone sky high relative to income. You're a baby boomer. You have created a society where people become adults later in life so you can feel younger and people need to rely on parents longer and longer. That is reality. You're the one generation that can't say we left a better/easier life for our youth. You had it better than your children. You're missing the overall politics of the situation and personalizing it to me. I have my own place that I can afford. It's not relevant to me. Oh and if you go back to the 50's and even 60's/early 70's somewhat then ONE person usually supported an entire household. Women entered the workforce and now it takes two people working full time to pull in the same amount to stay afloat. We are going in circles here. You just want to talk "tough" and sound "tough". Reality is either way we are in the grave at the end. So it would make sense to make life as enjoyable as possible. Sort of like universal healthcare. We actually have idiots talking out against it. It's the best thing to happen to working folk since insituting the 40 hour week during the fdr's new deal. Every single other first world country has it. Hell Canada pays less for their universal healthcare system than we pay just for medicare per capita. And they have no health insurance up there. They have no medical bills. You get a card from the government and you're covered. Do the police ask you for a police insurance card when you call 911? LOL It's a public safety matter. Maybe we'll privatize police next and make people buy police insurance. Have you looked at the number of people working at mcdonalds/walmart that are on welfare? We are subsidizing these companies so they can pay dirt low wages. And that doesn't even include other government money/grants these companies get. Hell powder ridge in ct got over 500k just from state of ct! Oh and "small business" is really a misnomer. Anyone know the liquid capital requirements to buy ONE mcdonalds franchise? 2 million in CASH. Hardly call that a small mom and pops operation, yet they have way less than 50 employees(at one franchise)
I bet anyone reading this wishes you had gone to college and learned what a paragraph is.
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