re: #317 Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus

Yes, but that is not the ultimate cause of the inability of states to pay college costs out of general revenue. The problem, even here in California where being a “marxist” is not totally anathema, the problem with everyone going to college is that it meant expanding the system significantly. And that costs money.

There is a salvation-by-education belief among many leftists. I think this has many causes, but I find that it is still a fallacy in the end. Education can provide one with important skills and, if the individual is so inclined characterologically, a way to think about the world.

But I find so much in life which can be done without forcing someone to sit through endless hours of required college classes (of subjects the student could not care less). One can, if trained by a good primary and secondary school system, accomplish quite a bit in life with only 12 years of formal education ( and yes, I realize many people live in areas where they are poorly served by their teachers and schools.)

Yet our society is set up to value its own belief system, and our society believes in credentials for credentials sake.

Education is the very thing that lifted society out of the Dark Ages. The largest education programme in the history of the USA was the GI Bill, which sent millions of people to college and technical schools, and the first chance conservatives had, they killed that programme. (The benefits programme I had was called VEAP, which you had to pay about 1/3 into it to get a maximum of $8,100 out of. Needless to say, VEAP was worthless.)

The only time conservatives were interested in education was when the USSR lobbed Sputnik 1 overhead, and they realised that we were behind on technology. Conservatives funded engineering, math, and science for the purposes of military power.

Once that was done, so was their interest in education.

There’s a reason Trump said he loves the poorly educated.

Belafon noted it with the breakdown of Pew Research’s exit polling. Look who the poorly educated vote for by a large percentage.

re: #313 Belafon

Conservatives have always opposed public education in this nation. Always. Public schools interfere with religious schools.

A relevant history of public education:
publicschoolreview.com