latest jobs report

[Danzig]

several things come to mind.
one, there is a huge push to get kids to go to college. why? as was said above, it's not for everyone. and what about the growing student loan debt problem? who is it who profits most from an increased student body? probably banks. hell, they don't care if johnny can get a job with is philosophy degree, or suzie with one in fine arts. huge issue.
two-our service sectors are starving for new people. not enough electricians, plumbers, mechanics, etc. some of those kids being prodded to college should be going to votech.

as for regs-there are more and more added every year. and they become costly.
speaking of which-the tax credit small businesses can get for providing health care-the steps involved are so convoluted, that the hours spent by the accountant is producing a higher bill than what the businesses save by obtaining the credit!! a fraction of small businesses are applying compared to what they budgeted for, because accountants are telling their customers 'don't bother'.
and businesses with just over 50 employees. guess what's going to happen in those places when obamacare kicks in?????? i know. you can bet your sweet ass that they cut some folks to get below that magic number.

[phystech]

Originally Posted by Danzig

several things come to mind.
one, there is a huge push to get kids to go to college. why? as was said above, it's not for everyone. and what about the growing student loan debt problem? who is it who profits most from an increased student body? probably banks. hell, they don't care if johnny can get a job with is philosophy degree, or suzie with one in fine arts. huge issue.
two-our service sectors are starving for new people. not enough electricians, plumbers, mechanics, etc. some of those kids being prodded to college should be going to votech.

as for regs-there are more and more added every year. and they become costly.
speaking of which-the tax credit small businesses can get for providing health care-the steps involved are so convoluted, that the hours spent by the accountant is producing a higher bill than what the businesses save by obtaining the credit!! a fraction of small businesses are applying compared to what they budgeted for, because accountants are telling their customers 'don't bother'.
and businesses with just over 50 employees. guess what's going to happen in those places when obamacare kicks in?????? i know. you can bet your sweet ass that they cut some folks to get below that magic number.

College has turned in to nothing more than 13th to 16th grade. I work at a major university with science majors and most of the kids that go through the program aren't fit to graduate - yet they are shoved out the door with a degree in order to preserve the "ranking" of the department/university. Biggest problem - most of them don't WANT to be here and are only here because Mommy and Daddy say they have to go. And I'd estimate 90% of the students that earn a degree in our department never intend to use the degree. In the last 5 years, where we produce an average of 60 grads per year from our major, I've only had 1 grad leave with the intention of teaching.

Had a conversation with a tenure track associate professor this week. She was giving a mid-term exam to her class. I asked if she'd cranked out a tough exam. Her response - "No, I made it pretty easy and even let them have open book. I have found that if I make it too tough, I get a bad evaluation at the end of the semester, and that will inhibit my advancement towards tenure." Sad.....

So, not only are our professors failing us, but out leaders are too. I agree with the thought that we don't need more philosophy grads to wait tables when what we really need are more plumbers, carpenters, etc. Yet, our political leaders all shove a college education down everyone's throat to the point that if one doesn't get a 4 year degree, you are considered second class.

One last thing - in the department I work in, we have a lot of foreign grad students. Our tax dollars pay for their advanced education. Most of them, once they graduate, do not enter the US workforce but, instead, return to their home country. Massive investment, little return.