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I quote: Bernie Sanders tweets, “At the end of the day, providing a path to go to college is a helluva lot cheaper than putting people on a path to jail.” I w
by setra 11y ago
I quote:
Bernie Sanders tweets, “At the end of the day, providing a path to go to college is a helluva lot cheaper than putting people on a path to jail.”
I wonder sometimes, if the best way to question the increasingly dangerous idea that a college education is the best path for the most people, is to stop fighting the sentiment directly, and simply shine a light on the knuckleheads who continue to perpetuate this nonsense. This latest tweet from Bernie Sanders is a prime example. In less than 140 characters, he’s managed to imply that a path to prison is the most likely alternative to a path to college. Pardon my acronym, but...WTF!?...
It’s a cautionary tale as predictable as it is false. But now, as people are slowly starting to understand the obscenity of 1.3 trillion dollars in student loans, along with the abundance of opportunity for those with the proper training, it seems the proponents of “college for all” need something even more frightening than the prospect of a career in the trades to frighten the next class into signing on the dotted line. According to Senator Sanders, that “something,” is a path to jail.
I try not to be political on this page, because the truth is, arrogance and elitism are alive and well in every corner of every party—especially with respect to this topic. But I have to admit, this is the first time I’ve seen an elected official support the hyper-inflated cost of a diploma by juxtaposing it with the hyper-inflated cost of incarceration. Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of it.
- aaronchall 11y agorelated: Le Cordon Bleau's US cooking schools are closing down: The company cited "the impact of the federal government's new regulations on career colleges" for its decision, referring to "the Obama administration's gainful employment rule, which cuts off federal financial aid to schools where graduates borrow money at high rates to pay for school but earn little after graduation." http://www.eater.com/2015/12/17/10401492/le-cordon-bleu-cooking-school-america-closing http://www.eater.com/2015/12/17/10401492/le-cordon-bleu-cook... Though I would expect trade schools to continue flourishing...
- ArkyBeagle 11y agoIt's just one darned thing after another, innit? Fundamental attribution error for all! The FAE is like a drug. Our entire approach to prison has been like this since the Quakers invented it. Someone once pointed out to me that our University system was "hijacked" by, of all people, the Unitarians in the early 19th century ( when Harvard ousted the Congregationalists/Puritans/Calvinists and replaced them largely with Unitarians ). These are long-term , nearly sectarian conflicts. http://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/10759-how-harvard-went-from-calvinism-to-unitarianism http://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/10759-how... "Unitarianism is not a revealed religion. It is a social movement based on the notion that man is basically good and morally perfectible, and that all that is needed to achieve this moral and social utopia is a good secular education. And that is why the Unitarians became the major force in the public school movement." Now, perhaps I am taking my dose of FAE here :), but that sure looks like the shape things are in. I'm also quite aware it's not clear where the Quakers fit in; but the basic initial design for prison did initiate with them - for humanitarian reasons.
- dikdik 11y agoI took the comment differnetly. If we as a society are going to spend 30k+ a year on an individual, wouldn't it be better for that to be spent on educating a citizen than imprisoning them (especially for things like marijuana)? One is an investment, one is a money pit.