Public funder Junior College

[onejayhawk]

This is one of President Obama's idea I can get behind.

It would require a restructuring of several things, but two additional years of public school makes sense. The emphasis would be on certification studies, for a trade or service occupation. Essentially extended vo-tech, nursing, business or manufacturing programs with a license at the end of the period. Naturally, it would also be possible to amass college coursework. In that case, the final exam would be transferable as a test credit to the state schools.

J

[Fresno Bob]

I wish we would go back to vocational high schools, not everyone should be going to college

[onejayhawk]

That's a valid point. That said, if you can get, for example, a nurses aid certification out of public school it would be a good thing. Things like food handling, electrician assistant or basic auto mechanics is good with that too.

J

[nots]

interesting article:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20150112__Free_tuition__isn_t_free.html

[nots]

I want to smack the shit out of fools like this. Free education (health care, anything that benefits the poor)???? We can't afford it! Unending war? Corporate handouts? Mega military? Open up the coffers, boys.

I'm guessing you didn't actually read the article or else your comprehension skills need some work. He is in favor of free education and actually uses the excessive spending by the military as a benchmark for how (relatively) little the plan costs. He ends the article by proposing a 1% lifetime tax to be paid by those who use the program, which i thought was an interesting concept and maybe worthy of some discussion by some of the deeper thinkers in the bar.
But hats off to you for glancing at the headline and going off half cocked again--that's always interesting too.

[nots]

I read it. We clearly don't have the same definition of interesting. I found the article to be myopic and laughable in its entirety. But clearly sophomoric logic appeals to many people, particularly under the guise of intellectualism.

Only thing laughable is your feeble attempt to play off your lack of comprehension with a couple of big words.
When the author says "Much like the President, I favor free higher education because I was a beneficiary of it....", which word or words allows you to conclude he's against it?
He supports the proposal and then goes on to actually put forth a plan to PAY for the proposal. I'd be curious to hear from others if they think that kind of proposal has legs.

[nots]

Yeah, you did infer he was against it and then you deleted your comments.
Paying a tax of $25000 over 50 years to exponentially increase your value as an employee seems at least reasonable on it's face. Isn't your belief that the whole tax code be predicated on 'penalizing those who are more financially successful'? You're not advocating a flat tax rate or that income be taxed at the same rate for people making $50,000/yr and people making $500,000/yr?

[chancellor]

Never said he was against it. I said the article was stupid and it is. But yeah, please bring in the, what did you call them, "deeper thinkers", Einstein. And, yeah, let's hear how taxing poor folks 1% for the rest of their lives to get a shitty junior college education is a wonderful idea. At $50k/year income that comes to a bill of $25,000 after 50 years (and penalizing those who are more financially successful as well), all for something that even by this dupe's own admission is a small cost compared to existing military expenditures. Hmm, super interesting......or just stupid.

Well, since you asked...based on 2010 census data, the median earning of a high school graduate with no other degree is about $35,000. If a 2-year degree moves that median to $50k, as you note, paying 1% per year is a pretty fine investment, no?

[The Feral Slasher]

Well, since you asked...based on 2010 census data, the median earning of a high school graduate with no other degree is about $35,000. If a 2-year degree moves that median to $50k, as you note, paying 1% per year is a pretty fine investment, no?

The idea from the article was actually to have the government pay for a four year college education. Community college tuition from my understanding (don't care enough to google it) is typically $3000 a year, so paying for community college would be much cheaper than paying for tuition at a university. This is the kind of thing our government should be considering, so I'll give credit to Obama for at least starting the conversation.

---------------------------------------

How to square them? Here's my idea:

The government guarantees a four-year education to every qualified student. Once students finish college - graduating or dropping out - and enter the workforce, they will have a 1 percent college tax added to their bill for their working life.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/po...Z0Q8tXvjFfJ.99