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Thursday, March 31, 2016

‘Free College’ for Everyone is DUMB – and Mike Rowe Explains Why

Mike Rowe was asked by a fan to explain why none of the presidential candidates ever talk about blue-collar job training, the renowned entrepreneur not only answered the question; he also explained exactly why Bernie Sanders’ “free college for everyone” idea is simply dumb:

“If a majority of voters valued skilled labor as much as they value a sheepskin, I suspect Donald would be campaigning in a hardhat, Hillary would be stumping in steel-toed pumps, and Bernie would be handing out free welding torches,” he wrote.

Bingo. Far too many voters themselves have very little respect for blue-collar job training, and that itself happens to be a huge part of the problem:

Truth is, a lot of well-intended parents still believe that kids who attend trade schools do so because they’re not “college material.” That’s an absurd stereotype with no basis in reality, but for the millions of parents who want something “better” for their kids, it’s reason enough to discourage a career in the trades. Unfortunately, this reasoning is not only faulty, it’s destroying economies large and small.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Recently posted @ Ace of Spades HQ:
"My plumber is an intelligent, college-educated man who has a booming business that does not include 4:00am drain-snaking. For that you call Roto-Rooter. He is at his kids' Little League games, and I don't recall ever seeing his truck on the road during weekends.

He lamented to me recently that he cannot find a young kid to learn his trade. Nobody wants to be a plumber making $250k, when they could be web designers making $35k!"

Anonymous said...

actually free college isn't a bad idea if one sets limits on the program. First make sure they can only get it for degrees which are actually needed ie, math sciences engineering medicine etc. no basket weaving no cultural studies no bs psych degrees think we have enough lawyers. secondly make them maintain a B average. would you rather tax someone on 30K a year or have them on the dole for 30 years or tax someone on $70K a year for the next 30 years? we spend billions on weapon to kill each other but can't seem to figure out how to educate them to be productive members of society!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
actually free college isn't a bad idea if one sets limits on the program. First make sure they can only get it for degrees which are actually needed ie, math sciences engineering medicine etc. no basket weaving no cultural studies no bs psych degrees think we have enough lawyers. secondly make them maintain a B average. would you rather tax someone on 30K a year or have them on the dole for 30 years or tax someone on $70K a year for the next 30 years? we spend billions on weapon to kill each other but can't seem to figure out how to educate them to be productive members of society!

March 31, 2016 at 10:34 AM

Anyone that thinks anything free from the government is a good idea is a total idiot just as this person commenting is!

Anonymous said...

@11:55 am. I guess you should start paying for any type of law enforcement assistance you may need then

Anonymous said...

12.50,and just where do you think your boss gets the money to pay you with?

That's right; right out of 11:55's pockets!

Anonymous said...

10:34 "we spend billions on weapon to kill each other but can't seem to figure out how to educate them to be productive members of society!"

We know how to educate people to be productive members of society. Some people just refuse to be productive members of society. They would rather do drugs and be sponges on society. No amount of free college will ever change that. I believe the worst thing is we now send people to college to learn skills that they used to get paid to learn (eg. culinary arts, plumbing, electricians and welders). Used to you would be a paid apprentice with a master to learn these skills now you pay to go to community college to learn these same skills. Also some of those jobs if you have some talent you can earn as much or more than someone who went to college. I know plenty of nuclear welders and master electricians who earn as much or more than most lawyers.