Barry Obama has been doing the college circuit lately. I've been to one of his commencement addresses. Most recently, he shows up at Hampton University. There, he espoused the notion that all people should be given (or words to that effect) a college education. This sounds like a sweet sentiment until you realize that if everybody has a degree, a degree will be nothing special. This outcome is very consistent with the other tenets of socialism, forced "equal outcome", the punishment of real success, etc.. The bonus for Barry is that if this happens, the costs of education will go up, as the demand rises. His teacher's union constituency will get larger and happier.
Meanwhile, there's no proof that college educations are all that helpful in finding one's productive way through life. Some college educations are a complete waste of time. It would be prudent to take a closer look at the value of a college education before conscripting a large number of kids to the paper chase. The US actually needs high productivity, and that may be better achieved by putting people to work as soon as possible.
Putting people to work as soon as possible is hard to do when they must make $7.50/ hour. Most kids aren't worth $7.50/hour. Four years worth of college may not even help. Lower the minimum wage to $4.00 for high school students, so they'll have a chance to learn how to be productive. By the time they are 21, they will have several marketable skills, and can actually deliver $15 worth of work every hour, raising their standard of living, and able to start a family.
Schools should be preserved for those who wish to learn. Why should everyone be forced or even encouraged to go to school indefinitely? It makes professional students out of average people, postponing their entry into the real world, and taking up valuable instructor time.
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