You stated: "...a population saddled with student debt has on the overall economy. These kids are graduating..." No, that entire population is not graduating. Not the total population of those attending college, nor the total population of those with student loan debt. The young'uns I talk to every day who are "saddled with student debt" are those who bombed out of school and therefore could not get the kind of job necessary to service their debt loads. (I had lunch today at local restaurant and virtually every server and bartender on duty fit that description.)
Student debt is not primarily made up of dropouts, as the majority are degree holders. Regardless, we can limit this discussion to exclusively those with degrees and it wouldn't change the conversation all that much.
Oh, and financial reasons is usually cited as the single biggest reason given for dropping out, not "those who bombed out of school" (though that's usually number 2), but that's neither here nor there. Seems like if we were able to reduce the dropout rate by 30-40% (depending on the study you use), that would be a good thing?
That said, I would tend to agree that "part of a degree" is useless, so if your choices are "high school only with no debt" vs. "some college with debt", yeah the former is preferable. Neither are preferable, however, to a liberal arts degree from an aggregate standpoint because....
Reality says there is a tremendous shortage in the United States in the skilled trades--plumbers, electricians, carpenters, mechanics etc. The skilled trades are paying more than your average "liberal arts" major makes (see teacher pay). Don't denigrate those in vocational/technical fields--your college degree snobbishness is showing.
I am not denigrating anything, this has nothing to do with "snobbishness", but your statements here are objectively false on the aggregate. You're right that skilled trades generally start at both at higher salary and a lower unemployment rate, but they top out sooner too. Over the course of your career, Liberal arts degrees out-earn trades on the aggregate.
Source. Relevant quote:
"Most strikingly, the research found that people who received a broad, general education earned more over their lifetimes than otherwise similar people (that is, with similar test scores and years of schooling) who had attended vocational programs. Notably, the vocational graduates in most countries were more likely to be unemployed while older."
That's not to say vocations are useless, worthy of scorn, or to be looked down upon, this is
only talking from an economic opportunity standpoint, and a bachelor's degree over the lifetime is generally (not always, generally) going to yield a better rate of return.
So the question to me then is: Given that a bachelor's degree
still provides a better return than either a high school diploma or a vocational program, what do we do about the debt incurred by those degree holders (or even pursuers, if you like) that is dragging economic growth and limiting opportunities for
everyone in the country?"
You wanna talk ideologically, or put your foot down and say "they took out the loans they are responsible for them" then we can do that, but are you willing to continue to decrease the US GDP by approximately $80 billion every year to make your point? Seems a little short-sighted to me.
Now you're adding "buying a house right out of the [college] gate" as another unalienable American "right"...???
Where did I say that? I didn't say anything about a "right", I'm talking about results. Younger people are delaying key milestones relative to previous generations. It's near universally recognized that home ownership is beneficial to an overall economy. Less people buying homes decreases the real estate market (remember what happened last time that went down?) and reduces the assets held by OTHER homeowners and makes it harder for them to sell. Again, you want , but it's generally agreed that an economy where young people can get married, buy a house, and have kids is beneficial for everyone...and they are doing that less and less.
A ROTC scholarship...has its own issues.." What issues? Service to country is an issue to you?
Boy oh boy you sure do like putting words in my mouth. No, service to your country is not an issue. Obviously ROTC is a
tremendous opportunity, commitment, and service to the nation. No problem with that at all, but the military being the only option for those struggling to afford university? Not sure I can get behind that, and that's without dealing with "what if you don't get in?"
For young people in my state (OK), they can get free tuition at any state university if they join the Army or Air Force National Guard. All the "issues" of being paid to attend basic training; being paid to attend technical training school; paid when they are on duty one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer; paid for working extra time in the summer if the workload is there; paid a monthly GI Bill cash stipend while they attend that tuition-free university; and, depending on the occupational specialty they choose to serve in, they may also receive extra incentives like $20K in student loan reimbursement and/or a GI Bill "kicker" that provides for a higher monthly stipend.
Again, I am not discounting this or saying it's not a good option, just not sure "You can join the military if you want to go to college" is for everyone.
