noxiousdog wrote:The employment rate for college graduates is 97.5%. After your first job, it's mostly irrelevant what school you went to.
My wife is getting a four year degree now, and I've been paying attention to it for both my kids.
My boss is on one of the curriculum boards for the state of Texas.
Fwiw, at some point, I will change my mind, but a much, much greater problem are the people who aren't right for college, but have no clear way to develop marketable skills. Mechanics, welders, plumbers, etc. That is where the major gap can be fixed and for a lot less money.
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I don't follow Isgrim's employment numbers that closely (sorry grim) but his numbers don't match yours. In any case, the specific number doesn't matter, if we're simply discussing employment, it just matters that it's high.
I could also take about less tangible benefits of having an educated population that aren't related to employability and economics, but if it's hard to get Americans to agree that paying someone's way so they can make the economy grow later, I sure as hell ain't taking on the task of explaining why education is beneficial just for education's sake. If dollars don't move the typical american, other reasons don't stand much chance.
In any case, my vision (as blurry and unfocused as it is) of "free education" includes trades, so that doesn't change things. Now I realize some people are just...well, not suited to being part of society. They choose crime or lethargy or whatever. People aren't identical so any solution will never encompass everyone. A free education won't mean crime disappears, or welfare programs in general can be closed due to lack of need.
For the people who are "lost causes", I think by definition, can't be "solved". That's a shame, but so what? We're not going to make them fight lions in an auditorium for our amusement, so...you solve what you can and move on. If we managed to make a 50% dent in the population of unproductive or underproductive people through major tax payer outlay into a nation-wide education finance system, would that be worthwhile? I don't know. Maybe?