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Only in the US things like giving your kids proper education and saving for nice retirement are considered luxury goods. In Europe they are treated almost as hu

by mamon 8y ago

Only in the US things like giving your kids proper education and saving for nice retirement are considered luxury goods. In Europe they are treated almost as human rights :)

lotsofpulp 8y ago
Proper education and attendance at an institution that shows you can compete and/or belong with the top x% are different things. The latter is what the article is referring to.
- anyfoo 8y ago
  No, it's not. Why is "being able to compete and/or belong with the top x%" in any way dependent on money? Europe has world-class universities which are essentially free. You get into them by proving qualification, not wealth.
  - AnimalMuppet 8y ago
    The original quote was attendance at a "top" school, not just a decent one. > You get into them by proving qualification, not wealth. I think the context indicates that we're talking about kids who couldn't get in by proving qualification, so their only way in is wealth. You want your kids to attend Harvard, not because they're smart enough but because you can pay full price tuition? Well, it's going to cost rather a lot.
    - anyfoo 8y ago
      > The original quote was attendance at a "top" school, not just a decent one. I realize that. > You want your kids to attend Harvard, not because they're smart enough but because you can pay full price tuition? Well, it's going to cost rather a lot. Why is that even an option? The point was that there is no tuition in Europe (at least in the countries I know). If your kid is unqualified, it is unqualified, you don't get to override that just because you have money.
      - AnimalMuppet 8y ago
        Why is that even an option? Because Harvard likes money. (And Harvard is a private institution, not run by the government.)
1337biz 8y ago
Let's talk about that state provided retirement money in 10 years again...
chris11 8y ago
I don't think this is necessarily about the poor state of public education. Two of the top three school districts are in the bay area, and 9 are in the top 20. https://blog.pacificunion.com/silicon-valley-again-earns-high-marks-for-education-in-2018/ https://blog.pacificunion.com/silicon-valley-again-earns-hig... I'd expect that an engineer could find a decent public school for their kids ignoring any special circumstances. I think it's more to do with the cost of private education. I found a couple of private middle schools that charged between $30k and $35k per student per year.
- United857 8y ago
  The top SF Bay Area school districts are all in areas with high housing prices (big part of the reason why the housing prices are high to begin with). Unlike other parts of the US, there are few or no "magnet" schools in lower-income areas. Public school assignments are solely based on your residential address. So in an indirect sense, sending your kids to a good public school is still costly. In some cases, even sending your kids to a top private school while living in a cheaper area may save money in the end.
  - masonic 8y ago
    Public school assignments are solely based on your residential address. I don't think that's true at all for SF.

by mamon 8y ago

Only in the US things like giving your kids proper education and saving for nice retirement are considered luxury goods. In Europe they are treated almost as human rights :)

lotsofpulp 8y ago

Proper education and attendance at an institution that shows you can compete and/or belong with the top x% are different things. The latter is what the article is referring to.

anyfoo 8y ago
No, it's not. Why is "being able to compete and/or belong with the top x%" in any way dependent on money? Europe has world-class universities which are essentially free. You get into them by proving qualification, not wealth.
- AnimalMuppet 8y ago
  The original quote was attendance at a "top" school, not just a decent one. > You get into them by proving qualification, not wealth. I think the context indicates that we're talking about kids who couldn't get in by proving qualification, so their only way in is wealth. You want your kids to attend Harvard, not because they're smart enough but because you can pay full price tuition? Well, it's going to cost rather a lot.
  - anyfoo 8y ago
    > The original quote was attendance at a "top" school, not just a decent one. I realize that. > You want your kids to attend Harvard, not because they're smart enough but because you can pay full price tuition? Well, it's going to cost rather a lot. Why is that even an option? The point was that there is no tuition in Europe (at least in the countries I know). If your kid is unqualified, it is unqualified, you don't get to override that just because you have money.
    - AnimalMuppet 8y ago
      Why is that even an option? Because Harvard likes money. (And Harvard is a private institution, not run by the government.)

1337biz 8y ago

Let's talk about that state provided retirement money in 10 years again...

chris11 8y ago

I don't think this is necessarily about the poor state of public education. Two of the top three school districts are in the bay area, and 9 are in the top 20. https://blog.pacificunion.com/silicon-valley-again-earns-high-marks-for-education-in-2018/ https://blog.pacificunion.com/silicon-valley-again-earns-hig... I'd expect that an engineer could find a decent public school for their kids ignoring any special circumstances. I think it's more to do with the cost of private education. I found a couple of private middle schools that charged between $30k and $35k per student per year.

United857 8y ago
The top SF Bay Area school districts are all in areas with high housing prices (big part of the reason why the housing prices are high to begin with). Unlike other parts of the US, there are few or no "magnet" schools in lower-income areas. Public school assignments are solely based on your residential address. So in an indirect sense, sending your kids to a good public school is still costly. In some cases, even sending your kids to a top private school while living in a cheaper area may save money in the end.
- masonic 8y ago
  Public school assignments are solely based on your residential address. I don't think that's true at all for SF.