How the College Bubble Will Pop

[FarCenter]

In 1970, less than 1% of taxi drivers had college degrees. Four decades later, more than 15% do.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303933104579302951214561682

[JaneyVee]

1. A better idea would be massive investments in trade schools and a return to

A manufacturing economy as opposed to a service economy.

[Gravitycollapse]

2. A college education is about more than simple economics.

I realize its message has been hijacked of late. But it's still a vitally important piece of education for, as far as I'm concerned, nearly every person. I don't agree with the sentiment that we should be encouraging less people to go to college.

What we should be doing, as is done in other countries, is publicly funding tuition.

[JaneyVee]

4. Agreed. I cherish my college education and firmly believe that

Education IS the heart of the American Dream. My point was more about due to the high costs of college education a viable alternative would be great for those who can't afford college.

ETA: education is solely responsible for lifting me out of childhood poverty.

[Mopar151]

7. We also need learning and training opprutunites outside the classroom

Not everyone is cut out for the classroom. regardless of Stanford-Binet scores. Want some fun? Watch some (alledgedly) educated officefolk attempt to manipulate/manage blue-collar professionals - machinists, pipefitters, automation techs,riggers etc. - and see how the American "higher" education system's products do.

[Gravitycollapse]

9. All of these skills are learned. You think machinists were born with that knowledge and ability?

So, your argument is exceedingly weak. Of course, someone whose job is to work at a desk all day probably doesn't possess the kind of understanding or muscle memory required to effectively operate complex machinery. That doesn't mean he or she couldn't LEARN.

"Not everyone is cut out for the classroom." - That's like saying some people just aren't cut out to obtain sustenance by eating food. It makes no sense. We all grow up learning in the classroom. That we somehow drastically diverge into two totally distinct groups when we hit college age is not a proper interpretation of the evidence.

The classroom has a very important role in ALL of our lives. That doesn't mean it is the only method of learning or practice.

[Mopar151]

12. Hardly. I've done that - and similar stuff - for 35 years

But it did'nt all come from a classroom - and, where the shoprats encounter the office folk (those whose upbringing involved sports, or similar, and received their job skills primarily from classroom education), some things really stick out.
The biggest? They don't know how to help out, clean up, or put anything away. Evading work is a priority, technical entropy is a given. Near as I can tell, there are some serious problems with personal development in the current higher education model. When we make the classroom the exclusive gateway to knowledge, we enshrine these problems.

[yourout]

3. That would require putting a bullet in NAFTA, CAFTA, and all the other horrible....

"Free" trade agreements.

They are directly responsible for the loss of our manufacturing base.

[JaneyVee]

5. Seriously!

[Fumesucker]

6. Many people in the trades are hurting too

I know more than a few highly experienced people in the skilled trades and by no means are all of them doing well. When the 99% doesn't have the money to spend the trades also suffer from a lack of demand.

The velocity of money in our economy is too low because the 1% are hoarding it, leaving little for the rest of us.

Manufacturing is not a jobs panacea because automation is constantly boosting productivity and manufacturing is very automation friendly.

Yeah, I know the standard advice is learn to fix robots. Trust me as someone who repairs, builds and programs robotic equipment from time to time that not everyone is cut out for it just like someone who is tone deaf is not cut out to be a professional musician and someone who is color blind is not cut out to be a paint matcher.

[Mopar151]

13. Amen.

Get outa my toolbox, kid - your MBA won't save you!

[jsr]

8. The benefits of a degree are declining while costs rise.

[CFLDem]

10. Way too many people go to college

before they are mature enough to handle it just because it's what you do after high school.

Unfortunately this has caused grade inflation as lower tier colleges are pressured to cater to the lowest denominator.

An education is certainly for everyone but a university education is only for people interested in becoming professionals or academics.

Most people should go to a trade school or stick with an associate degree.

And yes the government should fund higher ed as long as the student makes the grade.

[surrealAmerican]

11. Taxi drivers might not be a particularly informative group to compare.

In the 70s, many more drivers were born in the US than the current population of drivers. I'm wondering, of this 15%, how many have degrees from US institutions, and how many of those attended high school here. Riding taxis in Chicago, I have yet to meet a driver who was born in this country.

[lumberjack_jeff]

14. That won't cause it to pop.

A degree simply becomes the price each worker must pay to hold any kind of employment, no matter how far removed from the day to day work.