yes, this I can get behind, more or less. tuition fee public schools.
but I think it needs to go hand-in-hand with broader changes that address why everyone now feels they need to complete a 4-year college, especially when very few people actually acquire vocational training in that period. perhaps merging college with high school more and accelerating education up to grade 12 (which means investing more in education earlier on) is a better idea than tossing a bunch of money into free college for all. what's the point of most high school grads haven't come out of high school at a proper level.
anyway I should read up on Bernie's specific plans but these are the details I would like to see addressed.
I couple of thoughts on alternatives to 4 year colleges.
First of all, yes, there should be a wide variety of options for people after high school. At the same time, I feel uncomfortable with this middle -upper class wisdom that college is not for everybody given that almost all the children of well off people go to college.
Now I'm not saying that that is what you are saying but I'm annoyed when well off, mostly white people, who all themselves went to college say that other should not. Trade school is not the cost less deus ex machina that conservatives and centrist imagine it to be. The credentialed trade schools charge thousands in tuition and that tuition is paid for with undischargable student debts, same as student loans that are used to pay for college.
Most tradesmen who make good money are either in unions (which conservatives and centrist try to dismantle) or they own a business that does plumbing, roofing, eletrical work etc. You don't have to be a Marxist to know that it's better to know a trade and own the tools than to simply know a trade. There is also the issue of opportunity costs. Right now, many apprenticeship programs require that to work for very little money so that limits access. In addition, there are also barriers imposed by State licensing.
Telling a poor kid, who cannot afford to even go to their local State school or community college, to just "become" a plumber because "there are plumbers out there who make $100,000k a year" is lazy and facile. Some tradesmen make good money but then a again some college graduates make good money.
Another thing to consider, it's still the case that for most young people who are poor and/or non white, college is their best option. It's wealthy white kids who could skip college and get a good job through their dad's golfing buddies. First generation Chicanx kids don't quite have those options and while they risk a life time of drowning in debt, their only option to escape their parents fate, a life time of poverty and toil, is to roll the dice and borrow money to get a degree and try to get a clerical job.
One more thing to consider, in the whole debate about college versus trade schools, it's interesting that nothing is every asked of employers. Their demands for credentials seem to be fixed and non negotiable. This is yet another reason why we need serious labor power in this country. An organized working class can ask private sector employers why they demand that entry level higher have to take what amounts to a 4-6 year, five to six figure aptitude test known as college. Why do they require this credential and why do students/prospective new hires have to incur the cost?
We do need to have a comprehensive look at how we develop human capital but until that time, you better believe that the left will fight to make sure that poor kids have the same access as rich kids. Until the children of Congressmen and Journalists start going to trucking school, en masse, it's good policy to make sure that Rosa from Pacoima has the same opportunities as Preston from Calabasas.
. It's rare to see.
) stipulated that my portion of her estate would go towards my college debt. But that’s the equivalent of starting a GoFundMe to pay healthcare costs and isn’t a solution one should have to resort to, or bank on. While it’s obviously a trade off I’d gladly welcome, if my mom was still alive I’d still be 25k in the hole due to student loans.
