I see both sides of this discussion. I think both sides are true, so its not really a they are right and I am wrong, or vise versa. I always told the kids that they should pursue their dreams as long as they are only responsible for themselves. If you bring another life into this world, at that point your highest responsibility is that kiddo, and not your wants and desires.
My youngest is going to the local community college and taking manufacturing technology classes. He is doing well, although he is early in his coursework. These days community college isn't cheap, but its the most cost effective secondary education. And he is learning an applicable skill that should be in demand, or at least get him into a quality apprentice program. Even apprenticeships are harder to come by these days, and it helps to have skills like welding to get into many of them.
On the other hand my wife finished her degree in Sociology at Washington State University. She went on to earn her Masters in Long Term Aging from USC online. She worked hard at various employers, which she coupled with her degrees. Last year she took a promotion and is the state Family Engagement Coordinator for the Department of Health in Washington state. She makes more than I did with 21 years of service in a paper mill, and doesn't have to work the nights, weekends, holidays, and mandatory overtime I did. But she works hard. What I have come to realize is that most state employees do work hard, care about their jobs, and want to help people. No she is not lifting 50 pound bags of sand and concrete, but there is a ton of stress in her position, and she is responsible for some pretty decent sized budgets and funding programs. But she followed her dream, and her education was necessary to do it.
Now on the other hand. I am not a conspiracy theorist, but there seems to be a trend of the middle and working class being turned into a revenue stream during my life time. In the 70's gold was de-regulated and some people made a ton of money off of it. Then we had the Savings and Loan scandal of the 80's, and some people made a ton of money off of it. Along came Enron, and people made a ton of money off it, and some folks lost a lot. Followed by the energy wholesale manipulation. Next up is the easing of credit card qualifications, and giving everyone a card and raking the money in off high interest cards. When that collapsed, people started selling debt relief and consolidation services. Go figure. Then the housing market and sub prime bubble. It just goes on.
Now we have the college tuition fleece. The costs of college tuition has been rising dramatically. Far faster than the costs of inflation, increased wages, facilities upgrades, and what not. Here is a chart published by World News regarding the cost of college tuition in the last 10 years versus other consumer goods.
What I am afraid to say is that this is another trend of the public being fleeced, and a sector of folks making money off of it. The more that financial institutions can loan, the better off they are. Especially with a portion of those loans being in government guaranteed paper. If not, there is another industry that benefits in tracking down folks and getting their arrears payments out of them.
Perhaps I am being cynical. But we are being taken advantage of. Yet I still see the value of a college education. It shouldn't just be so expensive. Perhaps one day we will end up exporting our kids to another country to get their secondary degree, just like other nations do now by sending their kids to the US. That would be a shame.
Regards
Mister Pig