Reply #27: I hear you [View All]

I think about the manufacturing jobs that have disappeared. It used to be that you could go to work at "the plant" where your father, grandfather, and all your uncles spent their lives, and know that you would have health insurance, steady raised, and a pension when you retire. Those jobs don't exist anymore, but I think that many in our society didn't adjust to the new reality. All grads need some kind of post-high school education, whether college or a tech school.

I think if my kids hadn't been college-bound, I would have encouraged them to go into plumbing, or electrician work, or mechanical work. There will always be a need for those fields, probably moreso in the future than in the past, when people generally knew how to fix their own home and car repair problems!

I don't know about the percentages you quoted. You are probably right about 20% breezing through life--which is a pretty good percentage, when you think about it--but I doubt if a full 70% will have nothing and nothing to lose. There will be some, and maybe more than there are now, but most will just be trying to figure out a _legal_ way to get by, and not turn to crime to support themselves.

Just my opinion.