Free college for everyone

That is sarcasm wrapped in facetiousness…

Many people seem to think that when they are handed a college diploma, there will also be a six figure salary offer letter tucked inside. That isn’t how it works…college graduation doesn’t guarantee instant success or even employment…especially if you chose a major that has little record of post-college employment.

In fact, if you graduated high school, you should have acquired the skills necessary to research the average starting wages for someone who graduates with your desired college degree. Average of average is $45K/yr…(engineering higher…liberal arts lower). That breaks down to about $22.50 per hour. Certainly better than the minimum wage job that you may have worked in college…though I bet if you are starting college now, you are probably more than a bit irritated that the kid hawking mad apple pies at a fast food restaurant will be earning 2/3 of what you make per hour by the time you graduate…with no extra schooling necessary.

Also, free isn’t free…someone is paying for it…just not the person receiving the education. The other part many people are overlooking is that all colleges won’t have to take part in this *free college*…just the public universities…So, your hopes of getting that Princeton degree for nothing…not so much.

This also means that when you apply for that job and your resumé states “Free state college” someone else applying has “private college”…guess which one carries even more weight now? There are some who believe that if public university was tuition free, private colleges would have to lower their tuition to compete. I get their point, but I don’t agree.

Here’s why: Stanford (a private university in California) currently costs about $62K per year (tuition, room and board, etc…) while San Jose State just down the street is $18K with same included…yet Stanford isn’t lowering their tuition to remain competitive. In fact, they have raised it, on average, 3.5% a year for the last 5 years. They know that there will be competition to attend Stanford…The average accepted student made a 1520 (out of 1600) on the SAT or 34 out of 36 on the ACT and a 4.18 GPA. Only 5% of applicants make it…so what is the possible reason for lowering tuition?

Here’s something else that I don’t understand…why those who argue that people should be bailed out of their existing student loans, are the same people that think the government shouldn’t have bailed out big businesses.

You made a decision, you accepted the debt, you are expected to pay it back…though I heard that advertisement again today on the radio…the one that exclaims that you shouldn’t let the credit card companies trick you into thinking you have to pay what you owe…Trick you? No wonder people think they are entitled to student loan reduction…they don’t expect to have to pay for the things they bought with a credit card, why should they pay for school?

People make this big deal about the crushing debt that a recent college graduate will have…once again, the media has taken something and blown it out of proportion to create fear and page views.

Just about 70% of college graduates have loan debt. Of those that do, the average graduate leaves school with approximately $30K in outstanding loans. With a 10 year payment plan, the monthly payment is around $350…Oddly enough, just about 70% of graduates who buy cars, take out a loan. Of these, the average loan balance is $27K. Monthly payments on that (with good credit) will be in the $500+ range.

So…the same number of graduates that have college debt, have auto debt…which costs them more per month…yet *this* debt isn’t the problem…Add in the approximately $5800 in credit card debt this person has (Which, at a minimum payment of $220 per month, will take them more than 10 years to pay off if they don’t add any to the balance…and cost them over $9K in total) and we can see why they are complaining about debt.

The math says the average graduate (with a student loan) has $1,000 per month in debt payments and brings home (in California) $3,000 per month. They now have $2,000 per month to cover the other expenses (in California the average rent is $1,750) and you can see how this can be difficult. But why aren’t we telling them to dump the car loan? That is more than half of their monthly debt.

The problem I see here is that we have a demand to relieve the burden of this *crushing* student loan debt, yet these same people are willing to take on even greater debt for something that will gain no value and cost them even more in the long run. Where do we get these mixed up ideas that loans taken to buy more car than necessary is ok, but loans taken to educate someone are bad? Why don’t we teach them in college how to budget and what they can actually afford to spend?

I read an opinion piece that stated some graduates were having to work jobs they didn’t like just to pay off their debt. Oh no…a job they didn’t like? But they went to college…they deserve a job they like…un-liked jobs are for those that only finished high school. Get over yourself already. 2 million people graduate college every year, you aren’t unique.

Though it may appear the opposite, I am not against college. I think the idea of furthering education, learning to live away from home, being responsible for your own schedules and coursework are all valuable to many people.

Do you know why college costs so much? Two main reasons: First, because schools know that the loans are readily available. With the all the grants and federal loans, the money isn’t the issue and so they raise their tuition. As the demand for college admission grows, they can raise the tuition again. Second, they have to pay the professors and continue to build up the infrastructure while receiving less funding from government sources.

The state college system (at least in California) is already impacted…some taking fewer than 10 percent of applicants…564,431 students applied to be freshmen in 2016 in the California State University system. 65,477 started in August…12%…imagine if the applicant number doubled…where will you put all these proposed students? Who will pay for all the extra buildings and professors that will be necessary to accept everyone?

The government (Federal, State, and Local) spends over $100 billion annually on 4 year colleges alone. Add another $40 billion for two year schools…The government already kicks down $140 billion for post-secondary education in this country. What would it cost to make it totally free to the students? Another $62 billion.

That is the same amount as the Federal government will spend this year on the entire federal law enforcement/justice system. We don’t have $62 billion laying around, so where does it come from? Let me guess…raise the taxes on the higher income brackets?  I see…again with the “not fair, I shouldn’t have to pay when that guy has so much more than I do…why can’t he pay for everything that I want to have?” stance.

Let’s talk the issues with student debt forgiveness. The government holds almost $1 trillion in student loan debt. If we don’t have $62 billion, what makes you think we can afford to forgive a trillion dollars? The Federal government is owed payments of $180 billion a year by the current debtors.

So…the proposal from the free college/forgive debt believers is not only should we find another $62 billion to pay for the college, we should also take a hit of $180 billion annually to forgive the debt? Where will we come up with the quarter of a trillion dollar annual shortfall?

All that said, not everyone needs college…and I am not just saying that because I never finished college (barely started is more like it). A new study shows that of the newest millionaires the number one degree held is some sort of engineering. Number 2? Trick question…no degree at all. That is correct.  You are more statistically likely to become a millionaire with no degree than any degree other than engineering…

The world needs all sorts of people performing all sorts of roles and many of those jobs pay well and have great career advancement potential. If you can work on a computer, you can get your foot in the door in Information Technology. If you are willing to keep learning, this field will always be here for you…

Claims adjusters, real estate agents, power line installer, transportation inspectors, gaming floor supervisors, funeral directors, elevator repairmen, and air traffic controllers…all positions that require a no more than a high school diploma and, in some cases, pay more than double the starting average wage of a college graduate. Plus, with all the college graduates who wouldn’t dream of taking some of these jobs, there is less competition and more room for advancement.

Yes, college opens some doors, and in some fields, degrees are absolutely necessary (pretty sure I would like my urologist to have finished his schooling before he attempted to perform a nephrectomy), but in many instances you can do more than fine without. Starting your own business probably doesn’t require a college degree, it does, however, require determination, effort, and time.

The key to getting ahead and finding that better job is your drive, your desire/ability to learn, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to become indispensable. A college degree gives you zero real-world experience (it is fantastic that you were able to remember the differences between routing protocols for your final exam in computer science, but have you ever had to to troubleshoot a failing connection that is costing your company $500K every 30 minutes it is down? That is a whole new kind of pressure)…and you need to spend some time in the real world gaining this experience and learning everything you can so that you become more valuable to current and prospective employers. The more real-world skills you have, the more you separate yourself from the pack. The more you separate yourself, the more you are worth to an employer. Too many times I hear about the kid that showed up and demanded double the starting salary because he has a degree…guess who doesn’t get the call back?

I find this behavior odd because they should have learned the law of supply and demand…the more the supply, the lower the demand and thus, the lower the value. Employers are in the driver’s seat, because if you turn down their offer, there are plenty of people in line behind you with the same degree who will take the job. You are only worth what the market will pay…

Imagine what happens when instead of 100 applicants with a degree turning up for a job, there are now 1,000 with that same degree. More supply, less value. Less value, lower wages. This isn’t a good thing for anyone, except those willing to undercut and work for less…Also, there is no way to force companies to create more jobs for all these new graduates (oh, I forgot…business doesn’t create jobs, the government does). If you ask me, free college equates to lower wages across the board.

There is no sure job waiting on the other side…you will most likely have to claw and scratch your way in and settle for a lot less than you think you are worth. If the person who interviews after you is willing to work for less, you had better bring a hell of a lot more to the table than they do. You want the degree, you pay for it…