Welp…many kids who banked on their student debt being wiped got a big, swift kick in the ass.
Kids are going to school to study the arts, humanities, and liberal arts. They graduate with a ton of student debt, but end up with meager jobs, low pay, and often not in something in the field they studied for. They too often have to involve themselves in the gig economy or hustle culture to make ends meet.
I think the tax monies used for student loans should no longer go towards ”liberal arts” colleges and instead only be funneled to trade schools, vocational centers, polytechnical schools. The jobs we need in this country aren’t for artists, editors, and other ”content creators”—there are good paying jobs in industry, warehousing, manufacturing, engineering, the sciences, and other STEM fields, jobs that actually contribute to our economy, to our communities, to our society.
It was great to hear the Supreme Court to tell Biden to stop with providing handouts to freeloaders. Why should the 1-in-7 (or less??) who decided to keep borrowing, borrowing, borrowing–and during the pause of payments for the past three years decided it was “smart” to borrow even more money to pursue more education when the payments you should’ve been paying regardless were “expensive”–be bailed out by the hardworking Americans who were smart about how they funded their education, or the working classes who never attended college?
What about the graduates who paid off all their debt? Why aren’t they getting a piece of the action? Why aren’t they getting a tax break or something to reward their good financial behavior?
Why do kids insist on attending the most expensive colleges, when Pell grants and other scholarships can easily cover the bulk of a community college education, or attending a school with much cheaper tuition? Why do schools insist on charging such high rates while forcing a “well-rounded education” taking all kinds of electives that have nothing to do with their major, and having pretty much freshman and sophomore classes repeat what we were essentially taught in high school?
Why are high school students taught that only college is the guaranteed, post-secondary pathway to success? Why are vocational and polytechnic schools not given the same prestige? Why are non-traditional pathways of learning, like night school, allowed to be considered?
And why do businesses expect students to have all this life or work experience, if not bachelor degrees for entry-level positions that once were meant for just high school graduates?
Sure, go ahead and “follow your passion”—but stop complaining that it’s not paying well, or that benefits suck, or that we as a culture don’t ”value the arts”. ”Selling out” isn’t the devil; it means providing for yourself if not your family.
Besides only funding education that teaches skillsets that provide for our economy as a whole, companies to bring back factory and warehouse work. Tell companies that outsourced all their manufacturing to India, China, and Vietnam to bring back those jobs, or otherwise they will be shut down, fined to the point it runs them into bankruptcy and closure, their higher-ups jailed for tax evasion and income fraud. No ”tax incentives”—either bring back the jobs, or they get shut down.
If we can manufacture cars to sell overseas, we can manufacture everything here to sell here.
Sure, the work is ”mind-numbing”, highly repetitive, and whatever, but these kinds of jobs are what made the USA a powerhouse until the 70s and 80s, before the rich owners sent overseas—these jobs now allow India and China to be major world powers instead, as we continue to fall. These jobs provide the wages and job growth our country so badly needs right now—as an alternative to working in retail and gig jobs, they are great to have in the event we suffer from another pandemic, as people work spaciously apart, there’s no dealing constantly with customers and potentially catching something. Wages and benefits are generally good, scheduling is usually full-time and consistent (even if you get stuck with the night shift, which usually pays even more!). They are usually lower-stressed compared to almost any retail or gig work. Factories today are also big on following OSHA and state safety regulations, even sometimes going above even those requirements.
The COVID pandemic showed us that globalization and “the for an university education” are both big lies and mistakes. Kids graduating with a ton of debt but without skillsets for the jobs that are in demand. We are always suffering from ”supply chain issues” now—not just with the food and goods you see at the stores, but in manufacturing, business-to-business dealings, and other areas the average American doesn’t see or think about. Growing all our own food—and using it for our consumption, as opposed to supply junk food, animal feed, or sending overseas—will improve food security. Clothes manufacturing may raise prices, but the quality will improve and reduce fast fashion pollution. We are already dropping $1000+ on our phones and other personal tech, so the manufacturing of other electronics wouldn’t raise prices so much to shun buyers. All this can happen because we also will have jobs that provide much better paychecks, which will increase discretionary spending, and allow Americans to buy those ”higher-priced” goods and services.
Bring back manufacturing and industry. Fund post-secondary education that provides students with skillsets our country actually needs. Consumers will not scoff at raised prices, as their paychecks will be much higher and allow them to spend on those goods. Everyone wins.
Charleigh Copley 