I thought I'd start out talking about this article since I used to be a student not so long ago, and I'm still reeling from the fact that I haven't paid one cent back for my schooling. Why, you ask? Because of the lack of work in the American job market. That and because the cost of getting a Bachelors Degree is far more than the amount of money that you'll be making in any job you get post college in order to pay for that job. And they wonder why student credit is so high? Because there's no other way to pay for school.
Not only that, but I have to agree that college is a racket akin to gangs forcing protection money out of people or organized crime. First you have to pay to even set foot on the campus, then you have to pay for each class, then the food (which is horrible anyway), then the room/furniture, then anything else they want to tack on to your tuition (building new dorms, environmental projects, renovation fees, etc...). And after all of that, after draining you dry and sucking the marrow out of your financial skeleton, they expect you to cough up more money (up to additional thousands of dollars) for books for the classes that you've already paid for!
How do college administrators expect students to keep up with those costs. Not only that but how do they expect to remain in business and continue running their school when all but a fraction of the students who want a higher education can afford it. But then again this goes back to what I think is the problem with the American job market.
Problem is, I think, we have let ourselves believe that we, as Americans, are too good for menial labor. Those jobs as trash collectors, utility workers, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, pretty much anything that could be considered a trade (which you'll note, also require a modicum of hard work) Americans think they're too good for. We've allowed ourselves to think that we're beyond that because we have bought into this notion that you go to college, get an office job, and do what people do on TV who have office jobs. Boy, no wonder we're hosed economically.
Speaking of economics, have you heard this ridiculous idea of charging students a head tax at private universities? What the heck is up with that? As if (as I stated before) your [should be considered criminal] practices of screwing students out of all the money they will probably ever see isn't bad enough, now you want to tax them for your city so that you can attempt to wipe out the deficit? Have you no idea, Mr. Mayor exactly what college students bring to large cities such as yours?
I also think that its horribly unfair to slap such a tax on students, to
"help ease the burden on struggling taxpayers."Uhm...last I checked, when I was in college, I was paying taxes. Which would make me a [really] struggling taxpayer, technically. So your solution to this whole problem is to take the taxpayers who are only in your city for the vast majority of the year, paying multiple thousands of dollars in tuition to be there, and other multiple thousands of dollars supporting the economy of your city by buying, selling, and otherwise using the services of your city, and slap more taxes on them. Why don't you just say what you really mean, and that is that you'd sacrifice the economic boost that the private colleges give your city for the sake of lowering taxes of your constituents so that you can be re-elected. Which is what you're going for anyway, isn't it Mr. Mayor? Like all politicians you're not concerned about the people who elected you, you're concerned about keeping your status position (and the nice fat salary and benefits that your taxpayers pay for, that I notice you're not ready to relinquish to help ease the burden on struggling taxpayers) so that you can remain on top and in the spotlight. Wonderful [/sarcasm]
While we're still talking about students, let's shift a bit from economic woes to something a little different. This article which illustrates the token gay issue that I'll be blogging about, really gets me. Now I can't say for certain what the actual statistics are for heterosexual and homosexual domestic violence among adults and teens, etc... (even though 82% of all statistics are made up on the spot, or something like that). But I'd think that it would be a concern of lawmakers to protect the children who are victims of domestic/relationship violence no matter what.
The concern that allowing that protection would force the Dept. of Education to teach children about same-sex relationships is absurd. Not only that, but I think its telling about the blatant homophobia of the state, that even the notion that, as Rep. Joan Brady said "...excluding gay relationships is fine and declared that, “Traditional domestic violence occurs in a man-woman, boy-girl situation.”" I'm sorry, can I just ask how blind and stupid Rep. Brady is? Are you so wrapped up in your own hatred of those who don't agree with you that you're willing to ignore the dangers faced by the children who will one day be the voters who will vote for you or against you? Not only that, but sticking your head in the sand by denying that violence doesn't happen in same-sex relationships is pretty much saying "if I can't see it then it doesn't exist". Well let me illustrate the ostrich who sticks his head in ground in the middle of a dirt road because he's scared of the 18-wheeler that's barrelling toward him. You get the idea...
On a far more positive note, this article illustrates an issue that I've been talking about with people for the last 3 years at least. The issue that even though most Christians hold the belief that if one doesn't believe in/that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, they don't have to be jerks about it. There is a way to express your religious beliefs in such a way that it doesn't offend. Not only that, but if you attempt to show by example the love for others that Christianity espouses all the time, it may make a larger impact than browbeating people into believing what you believe.
Take me for example. I'm hopelessly Lutheran. But if you'll notice, one of my favorite symbols is the Yin Yang. I love that it symbolizes positive, and negative/good and bad. But the two dots mean that there's just a little evil in every good, and a little good in every evil. It symbolizes balance and harmony, which is something that I strive for in myself. And I think its a great symbol. I also believe in metaphysical things, which is not to say that I'm a believer in any sort of new age religion. I just know that there are forces in the world that we can't see, and that's ok. I also believe in the power of balance and the movement of positive/negative energy by means of meditation. Call me crazy, but it works, at least for me a whole mess of other people, so there's gotta be some truth to it.
See you next week!
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