Never overestimate the intelligence of the public.
I was just in my car, listening to the radio, and they were discussing California's budget crisis. Among the entities hit is the Cal State system, and they interviewed a senior at Cal State Hayward about the budget cuts. I'm paraphrasing here, but she said something along these lines: "It's important everyone have an opportunity to go to college. These days, you need a Master's degree to get any job. Plus all the baby boomers are coming. There are a jillion and two of them, and they need a place to go."
If I could respond to this young woman, I would point out a couple of things:
- It doesn't take a Master's degree to get a job; indeed, the only jobs that are surviving this economy are the kinds of jobs that high school graduates (or not) can get. Those with higher education degrees are probably having a tougher time finding the high-paying jobs they believe they deserve than those who want to flip burgers;
- Errr, the "baby boomers" aren't coming. They've come. And gone. It indicates an appalling ignorance of, well, just about anything to believe that the baby boomers are just about to enter college. The woman who believes this is, by the way, going to have her college degree in June.
Anyway, enough of that. The /ES has been rough-and-tumble today; I covered at 805 but re-entered at 823, and I'm hoping for a real tumble by the close.
