Subj : In the Latest News Part 1 To : ALL From : BOB KLAHN Date : Wed Jul 17 2013 14:41:36 Link to full article at this link: http://newamericamedia.org/2013/07/the-breaking-point--- sacrificing-all-for-the -sake-of-education.php The author's point is student loans, my point is the cost of education and putting that burden on the students. She went to Harvard, for which reason I don't have a lot of sympathy for her. She could have gone to a state school for a lot less money. However, the point is valid in any case. ---------------------------------------------------------------- "The Breaking Point" - Sacrificing All for the Sake of Education San Francisco, CA When I got my acceptance letter from Harvard, my parents decided they would stop at nothing to afford the expense. Raised in ... ---------------------------------------------------------------- My comment: For a lot of families that has been the way of things for a very long time. A generation ago that meant significant sacrifice for lower income families. Today that means great sacrifice, and often failure to make it through, for families at all levels, below the upper class. ---------------------------------------------------------------- My parents have worked harder in the past ten years than they ever have. My mom will turn 63 this month and is a bus driver; my dad is in his 50s and working in tech, which is a difficult field to be in if you're no longer young. He recently asked me to recommend a brand of eye cream because he says he needs to look like he's in his 30s for at least another 15 years. ... ---------------------------------------------------------------- My comment: I know what she means. I worked in "tech" for, well, almost all my working life. In the last few years new management, who did not appreciate the value of experience, did their best to drive the older workers out of the company. Only because we had a union were we able to hang on. And don't believe the EEOC is an effective deterrent to age discrimination, they are minimal at best. However, that is the only real problem working in "tech", as it's a job you can do until you drop, it's not all that physically demanding, and the knowledge part is not that hard to keep up with. ---------------------------------------------------------------- My maternal grandmother, who lives here in San Francisco, was born to a family of Mexican migrant workers in Candelaria, Texas. Her parents died .... After the war she worked as a waitress and put her kids through St. Agnes School in the Haight Ashbury. It was just a few months ago that she finally stopped waitressing at Bill's Place, a little after her 91st birthday. ... ---------------------------------------------------------------- My Comment: She doesn't make clear if her grandmother liked working, or had to. I suspect she didn't have to with a daughter married to a Sun Micro-system worker. Even after he lost his job, they could have afforded her. If Harvard meant she had to continue working, then grand-daughter should have found a good, cheaper school. We have top students from all over the world studying engineering here at the University of Toledo. In any case, no one should *have* to work that long. That's why we have social security. Social security is a good thing. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Then came the breaking point. My second year at Harvard my dad lost his job at Sun Microsystems and my family quickly moved to sell the house ... ---------------------------------------------------------------- My comment: Sorry, Harvard is not worth that mush, IMO. Not unless you are headed to a top level job, which she was not, as below. ---------------------------------------------------------------- I graduated from Harvard in 2005, and thanks to them have no student loan debt. ... As for the answer, I don't know. I have freedom and choices, but Harvard didn't give me those - that was my family. I've been able to take a series of jobs that didn't pay much because I don't have a mountain of debt on my shoulders. And if I feel like I have options, it's partially because I didn't have loans dragging me down before I even got started. ---------------------------------------------------------------- My comment: A series of jobs that didn't pay much with a Harvard degree? Like I said, not worth that much. ---------------------------------------------------------------- I didn't have to shoulder the expense of college on my own, and neither should anybody who wants an education. We either believe in investing in our future workforce, or we're content with forcing people to fend for themselves in a world where that's increasingly impossible. ---------------------------------------------------------------- My comment: No one should have to shoulder that burden alone. For Harvard, I don't care how much of a loan you have to take, they have endowments for students who can't afford tuition. State schools were established to educate those who cannot afford the private schools. That is what they should do. Before WWII it wasn't even necessary to have a high school diploma. By the VN war it was necessary, but a college degree wasn't. Today post high school education is necessary, at least community college level and heading for a full college degree. Education has been a government responsibility in this country long before this country was founded. It needs to be recognized that it still is. If we have uneducated young citizens, blame those who refuse to provide the education they need. And it ain't gonna be free. It will have to be paid for, but the price of an ignorant citizenry will be much higher. BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn .... Children come from God. 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