(12-06-2017 08:38 AM)JustAnotherAustinOwlStill Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 01:57 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 01:05 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  Ironically, one of the main reasons those people went to school and got an Art History and Sociology degree, is because YOUR generation told them to, and told them that if they got a college degree that they would have a job waiting for them. It seems like nowadays all that Boomers want to do is ***** and moan about how awful my generation is, without taking a good hard look at the opportunities they themselves had, that fact that a good portion of my generation was raised by them, and that the rungs of the ladder up are being pulled up more and more each day (for example, they won't fricken retire and free up salaries for new employees).

We've now gone off of tax policy, but this sure is a fun tangent.

yeah, my generation effed up. don't make me carry the burden for this. In any case, it was your guys who did most of the effing.

I'd jump in here, but as a GenXer, I'm too jaded and cynical to bother.

If the shoe fits...

As a kid growing up in the 50's and 60's, I remember a book cover being handed out (remember book covers? Remember books?) that showed the relative life time earnings among those with college degrees, those with only HS diplomas, and those who dropped out of HS. The message was clear.

The government relentlessly beat the drum that the way out of poverty was college, and millions got the message. But the message was incomplete. It should have been to get educated or trained in something that one could use to get a job. That part never came through. The government did all it could to enable people to get useless or poorly marketable degrees.

It took me a long tie to realize what we were doing. Since I don't run the government, I could do little about it. The best I could do was advise kids (yes, I was in a position to advise a lot of kids) that no mater what they studied, at least have a business minor, just in case you don't find that dream job running an art museum. At least one has thanked me for it. That Art History degree just is not good for much.

I also wanted to send my kids to college. One majored in math and business, graduated summa *** laude, and eventually ended up working as a systems analyst, whatever the heck that is, for a major company for the last 25 years. Success story. The other majored in English, became a teacher, and has since left the profession.

when my eldest grandson graduated, I advised him to use the experience he gained working summers with his other grandfather and go into plumbing. he and I both foresaw a useless degree and a lot of debt.

College is certainly a good choice for some, but a bad choice for others. I wonder what the GenXers and Millinneals are telling kids these days. Is it the same old tired "college will set you free"?

We end up with a bunch of overeducated unskilled workers who think the world owes them a comfortble living. After all, they did as told and went to college. Now they are working MW jobs and upset they cannot support a family on that, so let's raise the MW until they can.

I think a lot of them need to learn a skill instead of shoving burgers for $15/hour.