Democrats once preached college-for-all, and were too soft on school privatization. They need to reverse course on both these positions—and make an unapologetic case for education as a public good that benefits all kids.
Ryan Crosswell, a former prosecutor for the Justice Department, suggested that his opponent, retired firefighter Bob Brooks, was a “flawed candidate” because he hadn’t gone to college. Brooks pounced. “Sorry I wasn’t lucky enough to go to college,”
The appeal of this argument isn’t hard to understand when you consider that more than 60 percent of American adults don’t have a four-year college degree.
This interaction just pisses me off though. Democrats and Progressives I don’t think should be shying away from making secondary education affordable, something that every other nation has pretty much learned, is still the best way for people to make a living and making informed decisions that aren’t rooted in knee jerk reactions. Sorry but that’s where the world is heading and has been heading for a long while. I think that focusing on primary education and attempting to fix that Republican mess is good, they still need to talk about secondary education affordability and expand that out to include trade schools and advanced manufacturing training too.
Because it’s largely tied to stages of life, you often find even young gen x’ers whose first knee-jerk reaction to new students being tuition free is, “That’s not fair.”
I think applying messaging to the more encompassing, “Want America to be better for others too.” Is powerful enough to tie an entire campaign together.
Since we’re going to to use big brushes, I don’t think it’s we young Gen Xers that have an issue with free college it’s our older siblings that have the problem.
The obviously good position here is “I wasn’t lucky enough to get to go to college like you were. College was and still is an opportunity reserved for the privileged, and it’s only been getting worse. I’d like to see that changed so that everybody who wants a college education can have access to it. When you work for the public, your job is to remove archaic barriers, not chastise people who were excluded by them. We should be seeking to make things better and easier for every subsequent generation, not forcing them to endure every hardship we struggled with. What is the point of a civilized society if not to improve the quality of life for all as we move forward?”
… still the best way for people to make a living …
Best way to make decisions, yes, best way to contribute to your community, also yes, best way to earn your wage, yes. Best way to make a living? No sir. I’m afraid that time has passed. They are in fact doing everything in their power to make all work at every level, worthless, and the window where work has a meaningful economic impact, is closing. No wage earning skill set is going to be valuable if they get away with it, and even now, the best way to make a living is owning capital. Not using it, not producing with it, just owning it. There’s nothing gainful about employment in the 21st century. This economy only rewards rent seeking.
This interaction just pisses me off though. Democrats and Progressives I don’t think should be shying away from making secondary education affordable, something that every other nation has pretty much learned, is still the best way for people to make a living and making informed decisions that aren’t rooted in knee jerk reactions. Sorry but that’s where the world is heading and has been heading for a long while. I think that focusing on primary education and attempting to fix that Republican mess is good, they still need to talk about secondary education affordability and expand that out to include trade schools and advanced manufacturing training too.
My two cents.
Because it’s largely tied to stages of life, you often find even young gen x’ers whose first knee-jerk reaction to new students being tuition free is, “That’s not fair.”
I think applying messaging to the more encompassing, “Want America to be better for others too.” Is powerful enough to tie an entire campaign together.
Since we’re going to to use big brushes, I don’t think it’s we young Gen Xers that have an issue with free college it’s our older siblings that have the problem.
The obviously good position here is “I wasn’t lucky enough to get to go to college like you were. College was and still is an opportunity reserved for the privileged, and it’s only been getting worse. I’d like to see that changed so that everybody who wants a college education can have access to it. When you work for the public, your job is to remove archaic barriers, not chastise people who were excluded by them. We should be seeking to make things better and easier for every subsequent generation, not forcing them to endure every hardship we struggled with. What is the point of a civilized society if not to improve the quality of life for all as we move forward?”
Best way to make decisions, yes, best way to contribute to your community, also yes, best way to earn your wage, yes. Best way to make a living? No sir. I’m afraid that time has passed. They are in fact doing everything in their power to make all work at every level, worthless, and the window where work has a meaningful economic impact, is closing. No wage earning skill set is going to be valuable if they get away with it, and even now, the best way to make a living is owning capital. Not using it, not producing with it, just owning it. There’s nothing gainful about employment in the 21st century. This economy only rewards rent seeking.