ThirstyBarbarian
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I had a security clearance 35 years ago, so I know a little something’ about some stuff.
I remember taking a class on Communism back in college. The instructor was a true believer, lived in a local commune, etc. He loved to tell the students that the Soviets gave up on Communism just a year or two early. If they could have held out a bit longer, computer and AI technology would have been good enough to actually have a functional, but completely planned, economy. I guess we'll never find out...
Also, we've been trying to hire engineers here for almost a year, with VERY little success. I blame it on the fact that we are 100% back in the office. People would rather work from home.
/QUOTE]
The Soviet Union failed due a number of reasons, but graft and corruption played a big role. "Entrepreneurs" will always figure out a way to game the system for their own benefit, at the expense of others. It doesn't matter how well you plan the economy if the people doing the planning are lining their own pockets. Throw in significant disincentives to rock the boat, or to stick your neck out with a good idea, and the system is going to fail sooner or later. AI would not fix central planning. One premise of Communism is that everyone is actually agreeing to share equally; that simply is never going to happen. There will always be an entrepreneur figuring out how to get a little or a lot more for himself at the expense of the proletariat.
Soviet Union would have lasted longer if they had focused more on feeding their people, providing a higher quality of life, and shot a few more oligarchs.
Bear in mind, there is plenty of graft, corruption, and featherbedding in our own country. Don't like a law? Buy a senator - and it turns out you don't even have to buy your own senator, you can shop around for a cheap one.
There are some basic Laws of Economics that are without dispute.
1. Government actions results in a misallocation of capital. Always.
2. Price will naturally reach a level that balances supply and demand.
3. Monetation of debt transfers wealth from the lower economic classes to the upper economic classes.
College should be free for anyone who wants to better themselves and society. Yes, that includes the humanities/liberal arts. There is a societal benefit provided when our youth are educated in so called economically unviable fields of study.
Never have been able to understand the work from home concept. I have never had a job where that is possible. Come to think about it I can’t think of a single person I know that could. Be it medical, manufacturing, technical support, facilities engineering, construction, maintenance. It is just interesting to me that jobs exist where people don’t do anything physical.
Never have been able to understand the work from home concept. I have never had a job where that is possible. Come to think about it I can’t think of a single person I know that could. Be it medical, manufacturing, technical support, facilities engineering, construction, maintenance. It is just interesting to me that jobs exist where people don’t do anything physical.
Never have been able to understand the work from home concept. I have never had a job where that is possible. Come to think about it I can’t think of a single person I know that could. Be it medical, manufacturing, technical support, facilities engineering, construction, maintenance. It is just interesting to me that jobs exist where people don’t do anything physical.
With today's technology, one can certainly teach from home...but I am SOOOOOO glad that I retired from it just before the pandemic hit. It's simply more effective in person IMHO.Never have been able to understand the work from home concept. I have never had a job where that is possible. Come to think about it I can’t think of a single person I know that could. Be it medical, manufacturing, technical support, facilities engineering, construction, maintenance. It is just interesting to me that jobs exist where people don’t do anything physical.
One of my jobs (I have 3 at 66 years of age) is working at home. Of course, home on the range is a 1000 acre ranch fixing fence, pulling calves, feeding a goat dairy herd and a hundred head of cattle, tilling, planting, and cutting hay, and cost accounting for that activity. My other two jobs are processing and shipping AP (anybody need any?) at a facility still on the ranch but a mile away from the house, and installing solar arrays and solar water wells for clients."Work at home" refers to jobs where no one needs to be physically present or perform any physical labor tasks ( Answering phones, Computer-related jobs, Sales, Tech Support, Telemarketing, Upper Management, etc, etc, etc ) . . .
But, of course, there must be people who do the actual physical, daily tasks . . . The people who REALLY keep the Country going !
Dave F.
It's embarrassing that a explanation is required but here we are. ”Free" as in provided without direct cost to students. This is what is generally meant when folks say K-12 education is free. Obviously people are taxed to pay for their neighbors' kids education. As a society it's been agreed that the benefit to the community is worth the cost taxed to the community. Why there is still debate as to the cost/benefit ratio of undergraduate and graduate education is quite beyond me. Personally speaking, my income increased 10 fold and my tax burden increased infinitely with a college education. If only a few percent more people can experience the same who couldn't otherwise afford to go to college, it pays for itself. The community experiences the benefit when more people are spending much more money and actually paying taxes instead of getting 100+% refunds after credits. Hence the community should pay the cost just like K-12. Paying college students based on their grades should also be done, but let's just start with free tuition.Remember this . . . Nothing is "free" . . . Somebody, somewhere, is going to have to pay those expenses . . . Everything costs money and there are no "free rides" !
Dave F.
I think that is great! Your taxes went to infinity? Bravo!It's embarrassing that a explanation is required but here we are. ”Free" as in provided without direct cost to students. This is what is generally meant when folks say K-12 education is free. Obviously people are taxed to pay for their neighbors' kids education. As a society it's been agreed that the benefit to the community is worth the cost taxed to the community. Why there is still debate as to the cost/benefit ratio of undergraduate and graduate education is quite beyond me. Personally speaking, my income increased 10 fold and my tax burden increased infinitely with a college education. If only a few percent more people can experience the same who couldn't otherwise afford to go to college, it pays for itself. The community experiences the benefit when more people are spending much more money and actually paying taxes instead of getting 100+% refunds after credits. Hence the community should pay the cost just like K-12. Paying college students based on their grades should also be done, but let's just start with free tuition.
You seem like a very important person and probably have actually earned the condescending tone you've used so freely. The overt racist references to foreign workers/students though are just plain foolish sounding.I think that is great! Your taxes went to infinity? Bravo!
The US of A can use that money, because public education costs have gone through the roof.
Here is a report. ( In case reading an excel chart was not part of your education, the increase in K12 education costs has increased almost 700 percent!
https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/history/index.html
And such a fine ROI. (Yep, I am a business man, have created and managed several companies with hundreds of employees and created jobs most politicians have not a clue how that works. ) ROI is Return On Investment.
Here is a link to a flat line. That 700 percent increase in K 12 education bought us this.
http://educationbythenumbers.org/co...ved-for-40-years-top-students-stagnating_251/
Now, given that, and please allow me the same suppositions you proposed, which was most everything, higher education works IMO for those who EARN it. IE, yourself, Indians, Paks, people who WANT a better life while not depending on a lively hood in Bulgarian flute mastery, as long as they stay in the community that brought them to the dance! Educating AND Paying Indians, Paks, etc, and then they leave to develop weapons systems for countries that want to blow us away is NOT an ROI! (Sorry, that last statement is not always the case, but I have seen it happen! (Launch Director, International CANSAT competitions, 14 years).
And as a business man, I look at the average product of college graduates, who can’t spell, communicate, keep a schedule, or complete a sentence with someone out of their hovitas dialect (duck duck go indiana jones for a gibberish translation). I would much rather hire a tech school graduate who worked, earned, and thusly paid for the knowledge. Socialism does not work ie!
And lastly, please allow me this observation. I have been involved in academia at the high school and college level (plus law enforcement but that is another topic) for 3 and a half decades.
I have yet to get anyone involved in those disciplines to recommend a similar career path for their children.
Hmmm.
Pat G
It's embarrassing that a explanation is required but here we are. ”Free" as in provided without direct cost to students. This is what is generally meant when folks say K-12 education is free. Obviously people are taxed to pay for their neighbors' kids education. As a society it's been agreed that the benefit to the community is worth the cost taxed to the community. Why there is still debate as to the cost/benefit ratio of undergraduate and graduate education is quite beyond me. Personally speaking, my income increased 10 fold and my tax burden increased infinitely with a college education. If only a few percent more people can experience the same who couldn't otherwise afford to go to college, it pays for itself. The community experiences the benefit when more people are spending much more money and actually paying taxes instead of getting 100+% refunds after credits. Hence the community should pay the cost just like K-12. Paying college students based on their grades should also be done, but let's just start with free tuition.
Provided we also stop with the "these tax cuts will pay for themselves with increased economic activity" crap as well. That's also been conclusively proven wrong.Can we please stop with "these programs pay for themselves" crap. The data is in on that.
Provided we also stop with the "these tax cuts will pay for themselves with increased economic activity" crap as well. That's also been conclusively proven wrong.
Federal revenue NEVER dropped after a tax cut. Even the last one.Provided we also stop with the "these tax cuts will pay for themselves with increased economic activity" crap as well. That's also been conclusively proven wrong.
Never have been able to understand the work from home concept. I have never had a job where that is possible. Come to think about it I can’t think of a single person I know that could. Be it medical, manufacturing, technical support, facilities engineering, construction, maintenance. It is just interesting to me that jobs exist where people don’t do anything physical.
With today's technology, one can certainly teach from home...but I am SOOOOOO glad that I retired from it just before the pandemic hit. It's simply more effective in person IMHO.
Can we please stop with "these programs pay for themselves" crap. The data is in on that.
It's embarrassing that a explanation is required but here we are. ”Free" as in provided without direct cost to students. This is what is generally meant when folks say K-12 education is free. Obviously people are taxed to pay for their neighbors' kids education. As a society it's been agreed that the benefit to the community is worth the cost taxed to the community. Why there is still debate as to the cost/benefit ratio of undergraduate and graduate education is quite beyond me. Personally speaking, my income increased 10 fold and my tax burden increased infinitely with a college education. If only a few percent more people can experience the same who couldn't otherwise afford to go to college, it pays for itself. The community experiences the benefit when more people are spending much more money and actually paying taxes instead of getting 100+% refunds after credits. Hence the community should pay the cost just like K-12. Paying college students based on their grades should also be done, but let's just start with free tuition.
I hate that site....scares the crap out of me every time i see the debt numbers scrolling by so fast!Data-> usdebtclock.org
We need more gov programs to slow down that clock.
How many of those drop outs did so due to financial aid issues or because they had to work full time while attending college and caring for family? Also, I don't see a partial education as a waste.Some, are just not college material, yet they still want to try. The drop out rate here in California is remarkably high about 70%. That money seems to have been wasted.
How many of those drop outs did so due to financial aid issues or because they had to work full time while attending college and caring for family? Also, I don't see a partial education as a waste.
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