Back In My Day

                 As I sat down to write, I wondered what I should write about.  I considered continuing my History of the World series, but I don't want to run the risk of this blog getting stale with what are, quite frankly, reruns.  Considering I enjoy writing nonsense, though, I have another subject ready to go.  I'll probably post that one on a delayed basis.

"You can't be riding that Rerun Horse forever, you know."

                Then, I realized that I haven't really kept my "Stuff" posts on the same level as my "Nonsense"  ones.  In fact, it's been quite awhile since I've opined on anything serious.  To be sure, there are plenty of topics from which to choose.  Our world is a very precarious place nowadays.  From the war in Ukraine to skyrocketing inflation to the pandemic hanging on for dear life to government shelling out millions of taxpayer dollars to fund sports stadium to Disney going absolutely Goofy over Florida's "Don't Say Gay Bill" which does not say "gay" at all.

To say nothing of the fact that Donald Duck doesn't wear pants.

                It can't possibly surprise you that I have an opinion on each of those.

                For this evening, though, I chose the campaign by irresponsible nitwits to have the federal government waive their student loans.  While I'm sure their appeal falls on the deaf ears of most Americans, there are those who see nothing wrong with it.

                Yes, yes, I know the Eggplant-in-Chief promised that he would forgive student debt.  

"I also promised unity.  How'd that work out?"

                Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, noted loonies from New England, are two of the most prominent folks calling on Joe Biden to wave his magic wand and cause millions of dollars of student debt to disappear like energy independence.

                There are many others, of course.  To their dismay, though, a PhD in Norwegian Folk Dancing isn't up to the task of settling hundreds of thousands in loan debt.  Starbucks doesn't pay that well.  

"Even with tips?  Son of a..."

                Look, I get it.  A college education is substantially more expensive than it was after I graduated from high school.  While I want to smack one of these smarmy millennials with a "back in my day" revelation, I won't.  Well, mostly.  Facts are facts.  It does cost more now.

                But, the colleges I looked at when I was a senior didn't offer the "perks" that most do today.  They didn't have lavish meal plans,  workout facilities which would make Planet Fitness look like Average Joe's gym, lazy rivers at the Student Union, and free laptops to incoming freshmen.

What I could have had.

What I did have.

Of course, there was a time when it was worse.

                Oh, can I even say freshmen, anymore?

"Freshpeople.  Hater."

                They also weren't awash in tenured professors who got paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to teach one class.  I'm talking to you, Pocahontas.

                At any rate, back in my day (sigh...I said it), I enlisted in the Navy when it became clear that my mother was unprepared to finance higher education.  My goal was to spend four years seeing the world and then, when I got out, go to school on the GI Bill to become a teacher.

"Yeah, those poor bastards at college.  Who needs sleeping in on weekends, toga parties, and women when you live on an aircraft carrier with five thousand of your close personal friends?  Hey.  Wait a minute."

                Well, plans changed a bit, but that's another story.

                I'm not sure the quality of education is commensurate with the outlandish tuition.  Maybe, maybe not, probably not.

                A college/university education is a business, a competitive business.  Meaning, College 'A' has to offer a youngster something that College 'B' does not have.

                Add to that out-of-control tuition and you have a scenario where kids do incur a staggering financial burden.

                There are ways to ease this financial albatross, to be sure.  Sure, they have a bad rap, but why not consider a community college for two years before you head off to the four-year school?  I guarantee you that degrees from Stanford will not have a line saying you started in junior college.  Or maybe try to get a ROTC scholarship, which will pay most, if not all, the freight of a college education.

                Or, now here's a crazy thought, but hear me out.  How about a trade school?  That way, you'll could be making thousands of dollars wiring the house of a barista with a degree in Pygmy Gender Studies.

"I'm working on my doctoral thesis. 
Which of you are girls and which are bo...oh, wait.  I think I can guess."

                Now, before you think I've gone soft, let me be clear.  Just because I acknowledge they basically got screwed, that's their problem.  They signed a piece of paper, promising they would pay it back.  And, from personal experience, I know that someone else, probably parents, had to co-sign the note.

                It is their burden, their responsibility.  Last I checked, the Bill of Rights did not include the "Right To Other People's Money."  How in the world they think folks who may not have gone to college or those who have paid off their debt should finance their obligation is beyond me.

                In essence, it is their problem and theirs alone.  If the federal government were to adopt this cockamamie scheme, why not take it to the logical conclusion of forgiving mortgages, erasing car loans, or forgiving risky investments in the Stock Market?  All at taxpayer expense!

                Eventually, though, everybody is going to be riding the Bread and Circuses bandwagon with nobody left to pull it.

                However, if for some reason this hair-brained plan were to see the light of day-and don't think it's impossible.  I wouldn't put anything past this bunch-why not add some requirements before they suckle on Uncle Sam's teat?

"Suckle away, youngster."

                In other words..."Why sure we'll forgive your debt, but you owe us."  Let's say you can convince the Feds to liquidate your loan...that's two years of military service, my friend.  Or for those who aren't physically or otherwise qualified to put on the uniform (or who have a genuine aversion to the very concept-those lunatics are out there), then an equal amount of time in public service should be required.

                I'm thinking something akin to a Peace Corps.

                If you're unwilling to do either of these things, then congratulations.  That monetary millstone remains yours.

                In any event, by requiring that graduates give something back before reaping the benefits of government largesse, the American taxpayer will get something rather than nothing.  I, and many others like me, have zero problem helping the helpless.  We just get a touch ornery when it comes to helping the feckless.

                Plus, perhaps the college graduate will discover that they've also minored in self-respect.

                Now get off my lawn.