Adorable Valedictorian Speech Critiques Schooling

What a refreshing change to see a good student understand that school isn't the only path to becoming enlightened. This bright young woman's valedictorian speech is an insightful critique of a flawed education system. I hope Erica will continue to question authority and speak out against injustice and incompetence. Just don't go to law school.

...Some of you may be thinking, "Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn't you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.

I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer - not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition - a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I'm scared.

...For those of you out there that must continue to sit in desks and yield to the authoritarian ideologies of instructors, do not be disheartened. You still have the opportunity to stand up, ask questions, be critical, and create your own perspective. Demand a setting that will provide you with intellectual capabilities that allow you to expand your mind instead of directing it. Demand that you be interested in class. Demand that the excuse, "You have to learn this for the test" is not good enough for you. Education is an excellent tool, if used properly, but focus more on learning rather than getting good grades.

For those of you that work within the system that I am condemning, I do not mean to insult; I intend to motivate. You have the power to change the incompetencies of this system. I know that you did not become a teacher or administrator to see your students bored. You cannot accept the authority of the governing bodies that tell you what to teach, how to teach it, and that you will be punished if you do not comply. Our potential is at stake.

For those of you that are now leaving this establishment, I say, do not forget what went on in these classrooms. Do not abandon those that come after you. We are the new future and we are not going to let tradition stand. We will break down the walls of corruption to let a garden of knowledge grow throughout America. Once educated properly, we will have the power to do anything, and best of all, we will only use that power for good, for we will be cultivated and wise. We will not accept anything at face value. We will ask questions, and we will demand truth.

Education and Four Other Expenses that will Consume 50% of Your Lifetime Earnings.

So, yah... Four huge expenses and then Education--the one that interests me most.  Here they are as cited in this article:
1. Home
2. Car
3. Kids
4. Education
5. Retirement

Which one of these things doesn't belong here? Well, if you're human you'll want children (or not, but most do).  If you're living in an area without public transportation, you will need a car.  If you are old, you will have to retire.  And all humans need shelter, i.e. a home.  An education sticks out on this list as the one thing that may be unnecessary to living a viable middle class life.  In our cases, it has actually served as a barrier to living a middle class life.  I know I piss people off when I say that education is unnecessary, but I look around me (mostly to my family) and see a shitload of blue collar people that are financially stable, and my educated self makes strategic decisions between cup o'noodle and peanut butter and jelly.  Well, I'm wondering if I'm doing the right things with my financial decisions and how this article relates to my life.  I can't imagine feeling more poor than I do now.  Maybe, I can get back my 50%?  Not sure... let's see.

So, here are the hints on how to make these 5 items more affordable, but I will focus on education last (my comments in italics):

1.  Don't bite off more HOME than you can chew. How much house can you comfortably afford? For most people the answer is a house with a purchase price of no more than 3x their annual household income. Rationale: the cost of a home includes much more than the monthly mortgage payment. It's also property tax, insurance, upkeep, etc. Typically these costs run 2%-3% of the price of your home each year. Assuming a 20% down payment, a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, and interests rates in the 5%-6% rate, the 3x your income rule of thumb will translate into total housing costs of roughly 30% of your gross income.
Hmm.When bought my last home, it was 1X my salary at the time.  The problem is that the job didn't last.  Now it's about 4 to 5, or maybe even 6, times my salary.  So, it's hard to plan for this.  These days, in these volatile times, who can count on their income.  But considering what I could afford at the time, I certainly did the right thing.  I live in the ghetto and have had one attempted break-in. Thank God for ADT!
2. Don't let your CAR drive you to the poor house. The same logic applies to your car. Most people can comfortably afford a car that is 1/3rd of their annual income. If you make $60,000 you can comfortably afford a car that costs $20,000. If that seems low — now you know why so many Americans are in financial trouble. They are driving it. A car has many other costs than simply the monthly payment. There's insurance, gas, parking, maintenance, etc. If you follow this rule of thumb, your total transportation costs should be 10% or less of your gross income.  This is why I live in NYC.  I realized early on that a car is expensive and when it's cheap, there are unforeseen costs that make huge dents in your savings.  HUGE.
3. Don't let your KIDS kick you in the wallet. Kids are expensive. From a purely clinical standpoint the Dept. of Agriculture estimates it will cost $220,000 to raise a child born in 2008 from diapers to age 18. And that figure is before you add in the cost of college! Deciding to be a parent is a major financial obligation. Don't make it worse by over-indulging your love bundles.  As much as I love babies, I know I can't afford one now... and maybe ever.  So, this point doesn't apply to me either.
4.  Don't underestimate the need to feed your RETIREMENT nest egg. How much will you need to retire? A simple rule of thumb is to multiply your current income by 25. So if you make $50,000 a year and want to maintain that standard of living in retirement, you'll need a nest egg of at least $1,250,000. Understanding early on in your working life what "your number" is… will help you see just how important it is to plan for this major savings goal. Ha.  I had a savings, but the job was lost and that's down to nearly nothing.  So, I have no plan for retirement as of yet.  I have a couple of 401Ks that have nothing near $50K in them, let alone $1,250,000.00.  So, in regards to this, I am an idiot and will be a homeless old lady one day.

And Finally..........

5.  Don't forget to ask "How high is too high for higher EDUCATION?" It used to be good debt was defined as mortgage and student loan debt… and bad debt was everything else. Not any more. We've now learned that too much of a good thing can indeed be bad. Rough rule of thumb, don't take on more in total education debt than you think you are going to earn on average annually during your first 10 years after graduating (from college or grad school). In plain English, if you think you'll make $50,000 a year, don't take out more than $50,000 in loans. The logic behind this is that if it takes you more than 10 years of paying 10% of your income a year in student loan repayments, it's going to be tough to meet your other financial obligations.  So, at the time that I went to law school, the median/average salary (I don't know which one, but it was a lie in any scenario) was $74,000. That number sticks out in my mind.  I remember being satisfied with that number.  Consequently, and completely accidentally, I only had $70K in loans.  So, according to this guideline, I was one of the smart ones.  HOWEVER, the problem herein lies that the law school misguide you and misinform you as to what you should expect to earn.  So, the wildcard here is what you "think you are going to earn on average annually during your first 10 years."   I'm sure there are some careers where starting salaries are standard... but that is not the case with our careers.  You salary can range from $0 to $30K to $160K.  There is no way to know.  So the only way to get an education on the cheap and smartly is to make sure it's free.
But like I said, an education isn't necessary for so many different careers...unless sitting behind a desk is your end all be all.

When an education takes away from your esteem and security, is it really a need?

Do Your Children a Favor: Don't Send Them to College!

Hardknocks and I differ on the perceived necessity of college.  I think, and I'll let her speak for herself, that she believes it's valuable at a certain price. I think it's wholly unnecessary.  There's reasons for why I feel that it's unnecessary.  For one, I did the smart thing and stayed home for college.  Because of that shrewd move, I didn't get the "college experience" and do not value it.  No, I never did the "walk of shame" and I never up-chucked all over my dorm room. I think I'm a better person for it.  Secondly, my little sister was the "lazy one" who didn't do well in school.  She was the bane of my parent's existence.  She went to two years of college to appease them, then went into a business where college is not necessary (or where no one asks her about it) and she is more financially solvent that I am--by far.  So, I'm a little burnt on college. I believe in life experience. I travelled for an entire summer after college and learned more during that time, than college could ever teach me.  I advocate giving your children real life experience.  

So, Demosthenes of America sent me this article that supports my position.  He cites seven reasons why he, and others, should not send their children to college.  The bad news is that Mr. Altucher is taken, so I can't make a grab at him. He is so damn smart.  There is no good news.  So, are you dying to hear the reasons yet?  Here they are:

Here they are (my commentary in italics):

1. More than 60% of people entering college take more than four years to graduate. So whatever you think your kids are going to cost you to go to college, add 20% to 100%.  Actually, I know people that have stretched it out to 6 and more.  Sometimes, they aren't ready to be in the real world and sometimes the schools screw them into staying a bit longer.  See my post on No Sucker Left Behind.

2. The cost of the average college tuition has gone up nine-fold since 1976 versus seven-fold for health care and three-fold for inflation.  Yet the news focuses on the cost of health care.  Not to mention the fact that college doesn't get you nearly as far as it did in the 70s.

3. The differential in lifetime income between a college graduate and a non-college graduate over a 45 year career is approximately $800,000 (read on).  I'm pretty sure this stat has been totally debunked.  At the very least, it doesn't apply across the board. If you're less industrious youth with a B.A., you will earn less than an industrious youth sans B.A.  à la my sis.

4. If I put that $200,000 that I would've spent per child to cover tuition costs, living expenses, books, etc. into bonds yielding just 3% (any muni bonds) and let it compound for 49 years (adding back in the 4 years of college), I get $851,000. So my kids can avoid college and still end up with the same amount in the worst case.  Wow.  I think I would trade in my college education for that windfall when I'm 49.  Not that my parents paid for education... they didn't.

5. If smart, motivated, ambitious kids (the type of kids who get the most out of college) avoided college I'm sure the differential would be a lot less than $800,000 and may even be negative (i.e. they would make more if they avoided college and started going into the business world earlier).  See #3.

6. The average debt burden of a college graduate is $23,000. Up from $13,000 10 years ago. Students with professional degrees can see their debt burden go higher than $200,000. Total student borrowing has topped $75,000,000,000. It's too much for young adults just starting their careers.  Of course, props to Mr. Altucher for mentioning professional degrees,my brothers and sisters in the law who are saddled with over $100K of debt.  With less and less of a ROI, it's almost criminal to encourage your children to pursue law school on their own dime (plus interest compounded).

and the best point of all is the following, which includes options that I regularly reference (which I bolded and italicized):

7. Alternatives to spending $200,000 per kid so they can waste four years of their lives:

Give them $20,000 to start one to five businesses. Most businesses fail but that's OK. The education from the process lasts a lifetime and the network you build when you start a business will lead to many future jobs and possibilities.

Travel the world. That would be an education that pays many dividends and is much cheaper. Your kids can then go to college with a much more mature view of the world.

Work. They won't get the best jobs but they can make money, network, get a "hands-on" education, learn the value of money and go to college in their 20s when they can afford it -- and make every dollar worth it. Plus your kids will have a more clear idea of what they want to do in the world.

Volunteer. Let them see a side of life that is harder and where they can add value. An education like that is invaluable.

Do nothing but read. Get the benefits of a college education without paying the $200,000. I'd be happy to support a child that wants to home school a college education.

Please send this to all of your friends with children, or friends who plan on having children.  We need to do some major reprogramming of American minds when it comes to the necessity of an education.  

Are Higher Education Scam Blogs Racist and Sexist?

Lambert at Corrente linked to BIDER several weeks ago (thank you, Lambert and BDBlue!) along with a Yahoo/BusinessWeek article questioning whether college is still worth the student debt investment. The first two comments pretty much reiterated everything that Angel and I have been posting this year. Higher education, once a source of opportunity for some to move into the middle class, has now become an elitist and corrupt business that is perfectly fine with financially raping students into a lifetime of servitude to Sallie Mae, Access Group, and Direct Loans.

The third comment, however, came from a professor named “Historiann” who believes that higher education is worth the (insanely high) tuition cost because it enriches their inner lives. Teehee:

The article shows that college grads still on average make $400,000 more over 30 years than high school grads. Would you like an extra $13,000/year this year? I sure would. That's still real money to most people.

In any case: is a college education really only about the acquisition of money? (Pretend we're not living in the United States of Amnesia for a few minutes.) All things considered, universities have made the U.S. a better place, on balance. Not all students who enter leave it a better place, and there surely is a lot of wastage that the system encourages. But we shouldn't see the value of education as purely vocational.

I like to think that teaching at a university and introducing them to interesting, new ideas and writers helps young people develop rich and complex inner lives in adulthood. Even if we leave aside the value of those inner lives for artistic and creative thought and work, think of the savings in mental health services!

Um…that’s all well and good, but does inner enrichment pay off six-figure student loan debt and the feelings of absolute failure when you have to move back in with your parents, or you’re stuck in a dead-end job that can barely pay off those student loan bills and put food on the table for your family? One can argue that the massive amount of loans students have to take out to go to college and graduate school cause more long term unhappiness and mental anguish than whatever enrichment they get in the classroom.

As a starting point for any new readers joining us, I recommend reading Jobless Juris Doctor’s post about a day in the life of an unemployed graduate working a $10/hour part-time job with loans to pay back. Many of the comments are just a small window into the large numbers of young people who are depressed and on the verge of suicide because of student debt, especially in this new jobless era that could last for decades.

Please also read Cryn at Education Matters and put her under your blogroll even if your blog has nothing to do with education issues. Cryn is one of the few education advocates trying to change the system and fight for student loan victims. She regularly posts absolutely heart wrenching stories of educated American families being destroyed by student debt compounded by unemployment and our country not having a national health care system. Cryn herself attended an Ivy League and is now working in South Korea to pay off her student loan debt. Yes, many of us are being forced to flee the country to find anything resembling a respectable and decent paying job to pay off our student loans. This is the reality of higher education in America today and it doesn’t look like the situation will improve considering that many white-collar jobs along with manufacturing jobs are being outsourced, never to come back to the States. Below are links to reader stories Cryn has recently featured on her blog.

http://alleducationmatters.blogspot.com/2010/07/destroying-educated-american-family-one.html

http://alleducationmatters.blogspot.com/2010/06/cryns-story-as-student-loan-refugee-and.html

http://alleducationmatters.blogspot.com/2010/06/in-your-words-grandsons-anguish.html

http://alleducationmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/son-who-wants-to-help-struggling-family.html

We should also be wary of the college versus high school statistics and some statistics that say the unemployment rate among college graduates is only 4 percent. Many of these studies offer an expansive range of numbers from $400,000 over 30 years to as much as a million dollars more than a high school graduate over the course of a lifetime. Personally, these numbers sound as fraudulent as law school employment statistics.

Some tenured professors and university administrators will want to believe that they are getting paid as much as $388,000 to make the world a better place while turning a blind eye to the adjunct professors who are suffering, the unemployed PhD graduates who are suffering, and the thousands of their very own students who are suffering. Other professors have fessed up to random luck to getting a good job in academia. A few have admitted to being okay with scamming students out of hundreds of thousands of dollars as long as they get their six-figure salary and funds to go off to some exotic place for vacation under the guise of an academic conference.

I decided to head over to Historiann’s blog and found that she had linked to Lambert in a post of her own accusing people who write articles questioning the value of a college education as possibly harboring racist or sexist beliefs:

Is anyone else skeptical of this current rash (h/t Corrente) of “is college really worth it?” (h/t RealClearPolitics) articles, now that women are the majority of college students, and black, brown, and first-generation college students are gaining more of a purchase in post-secondary education? It sure seems like an interesting coincidence to me.

These always appear in a recession, and it’s true that unemployed people with college degrees are just as unemployed as people who never made it to college, or even out of high school. But, seriously? My bet is that the authors and publishers of these articles all have college educations. Do they really think that more education was a big mistake for them, or do they just want to argue that it’s a mistake for their social inferiors?

Huh? If this was an attempt to discredit anyone who challenges the higher education industrial complex, it was a pretty weak one. Many of our friends and truth-tellers under our blogroll do in fact think that more education was a big mistake for them because it has caused them unimaginable pain, suffering, and financial ruin. These people should be lauded rather than accused of being racists or sexists. Angel and I are women and have posted many stories on the plight of women, minorities, and the poor during this recession and as victims of the higher education scam. Nando at Third Tier Reality is Hispanic. Cryn and Jobless Juris Doctor are women. A Law School Victim at Life’s Mockery is African-American. Educated people of all backgrounds are beginning to see the inequality and unfairness of the U.S. higher education system and it has nothing to do with seeing women and minorities as social inferiors or dissuading them from trying to have a better life. It is naïve to believe that a college education somehow magically breaks down all the barriers of privilege, rank, and connections – all those things that are most important to finding a good job in our new economy.

I have never questioned education as a valuable way of becoming a better-rounded, enriched, well-informed, and enlightened individual. However, it is possible to become educated and worldly through self-education and travel without having to pay a business (and that is exactly what universities and for-profit colleges have become – a billion dollar making business) up to $200,000 for a degree as some sort of proof that you are superior to those who don’t have a $100,000 - $200,000 piece of paper. Anyone paying $50,000+ per semester should feel entitled to a good paying job – and they should get an education that not only makes them more creative or analytical, but also provides them with job training skills to do something practical once they leave the protective bubble of the ivory tower.

There are other countries that put their money where their mouth is and make education accessible to more people by offering free or low-cost tuition. If their graduates can’t find a good job in a depression, at least they won’t have up to half of their wages garnished to pay off banks and loan companies breathing down their necks with threats and obscene phone calls to friends and family. Wanna bet that most university administrators, if asked whether they would rather work under the current system that keeps out many poor and minority students from getting a top tier education or take a salary cut so that more students can afford college/grad school, would be perfectly fine keeping out the poor and forcing their students into lifetime debt as long as their coffers are filled? Who’s the racist now?

I do not regret going to college because I attended a top tier institution that covered most of my tuition with financial aid and scholarships. I was one of the lucky ones. I do, however, regret being fooled into spending thousands of dollars for a degree that hinders me from getting any job outside of the legal industry due to the fraudulent employment statistics released by the ABA and law schools.

We are not against education. We are against a system that devalues the importance of education by turning it into a money making scheme. To swindle millions of dollars from hard-working Americans using fraudulent data and myths in order to convince parents and their children that taking out hundreds of thousands in private loans is worth it to become more self-enlightened is despicable and should be stopped. Tax attorney said in a comment last week:

Tax Attorney said...

I think you people are missing the point. The relevant point is, "do we want an America with undereducated people who reject advanced degrees due to financial rape, or do we want an America that wants its citizens to proceed with education as far as they can go?"

Go to any guidance counselor's office in a high school--they will sell you a bill of goods that education is always profitable. Maybe that was true 30 years ago, but now it is just a business used to exploit the intelligent and ambitious. And as a country, unless we curtail free trade and the offshoring of jobs, we need educated people. But when the cost of the education exceeds its value, then how do we get there?

The European model with free education and vigorous testing to qualify, seems the most rational to me.

July 9, 2010 12:27 AM

Low-income, minority, and single parent (usually women) students bear the brunt of the higher education scam. Too many of them end up in for-profit schools or low ranked, third tier schools that offer a crappy education and few job opportunities at the same tuition rates as the Ivy League. Many must gamble with the possibility of absolute financial ruin for life by taking out huge loans to attend college. So when someone asks whether or not college (or graduate school) is worth it, they are asking a very serious question that no one in higher education is willing to answer directly. Is taking out $50k, $100k, $150k, $200k – even $300k (I know an Ivy League and T14 graduate who owes more than $300k) in loans worth the risk? Is anything that doesn’t offer a money back guarantee or an absolute guarantee of a good paying job worth taking such a huge financial risk?

Anyone who can justify not questioning these exorbitant costs is either rich, clueless, or profits in some way shape or form from the system currently in place.

Dad, You'd Better Cough Up Some Money so I can go to College and Pursue my Hobby!

Wow... I wish I thought of this.  Let's start with one of my stupid anecdotal stories.  When I was 12, I was already very book smart with straight "A's."  Because my parents are immigrants, I thought I should set them straight on my plans.  One day, I said to my mother, "Are you saving money for me to go to college, because I'm going.  You know that right?"  Mom said, "SURE, I am."  Years later, my financial package said that I would have to pull out loans because my family was middle-class, not poor.  I did receive some scholarships, but it didn't cover the full amount (and I lived at home to save money).  I showed the bill for tuition to my mother, and she said, "What do you want me to do with this?  I'm done. I paid for everything until you were 18."  I thought I warned her!?

Well, apparently, another girl didn't trust her parents to do the right thing.  As part of her parents' divorce in 2004, her father, a real estate developer, agreed to pay for education costs for his three children until they were 25 years old.  The father must have been less than trustworthy, because the daughter followed up by having her dad sign a separate contract, wherein he agreed to pay for her college tuition and car insurance payments until she was 25, provided that she tried her best to get loans.  He agreed to co-sign for these loans. 

He bailed.  No surprise.  So, she sued and won! 

Dana finished up school and then filed a breach of contract lawsuit in New Haven Superior Court against her father for failing to pay for her senior year of college.

The father represented himself in a two-day trial. He argued that Dana breached their agreement by not making reasonable efforts to apply for student loans, by failing to attend classes full time and by not providing him with receipts for tuition and other school-related expenses.

Howard Soderberg also filed a counterclaim alleging that his daughter dropped courses and pocketed the refunds. He also said she spent money that was supposed to go toward textbooks on personal items.
Attorney Berman said Dana was an art major and needed expensive art supplies for her classes. She said her father was typically late in making tuition payments, which often forced Dana to drop out of certain classes.
Judge Trial Referee William L. Hadden Jr. issued a written opinion earlier this month, ruling that father and daughter had a legitimate contract, that Dana proved to be the more credible party in the lawsuit, and that the father had breached the agreement.
"The plaintiff has proven that she has performed all of her obligations as set forth …" wrote Hadden. "The defendants have failed to prove the claims set forth in their special defenses and in Howard's counterclaim."
Berman said damages totaled around $47,000, including the loan, interest, attorney fees and missed car insurance payments. Berman did not anticipate an appeal.

So, I think this girl's vengeance is misguided.  Why did one year of tuition cost so much for an art major? 
Why not sue Southern Connecticut State for being so damn expensive.  Unreal.  Her father should have counter sued for her pursuing a bullshit major.

News We Already Know: College Degrees Fail to Lift Low Income Youth Out of Poverty

You can also add JD, MA, MS, PhD, and LLM along to the long list of degrees that will not lift you out of poverty. So much for the brainwashing from teachers and family my entire life that I could achieve anything with a college education. A study from the Institute of Higher Education Policy shows that an increasing number of low-income youth are pursuing higher education, but remain poor (Hi CLEO Pre-Law Institute for minorities *waves*).

Increasing proportions of low-income young adults are pursuing higher education, but some remain poor even with a postsecondary degree, according to a new report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy.

In 2008, among Americans ages 18 to 26 whose total household income was near or below the federal poverty level, 47 percent were or had been enrolled in college, compared with 42 percent in 2000. Eleven percent of them had earned a degree, a proportion roughly equivalent to that eight years ago, according to the report, which is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

The institute is a nonprofit group in Washington that conducts public-policy research to encourage access and success in higher education.

In introducing its report, the group called into question President Obama's declaration in his State of the Union address in January that "the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education." Poor students go to college academically unprepared, the report says, and, amid competing family and work obligations, they accumulate debt "that could have been avoided by pursuing a different type of degree or a credential."

None of the 11 percent of low-income graduates should remain in poverty, said Gregory S. Kienzl, director of research and evaluation at the Institute for Higher Education Policy. "If you have a degree, you should no longer be poor," he said.

Across all racial and ethnic groups, greater proportions of low-income young adults were or had been enrolled in college in 2008, compared with 2000. Hispanic students showed the largest percentage-point increase, to 37 percent from 29 percent. Low-income Asian and Pacific Islander and white students enrolled at the highest rates in 2008, 62 percent and 51 percent, respectively; the greatest proportions of low-income degree holders were also from those groups.

The report, "A Portrait of Low-Income Young Adults in Education," is the first in a series financed in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The next report will focus on attendance and enrollment patterns among low-income students, Mr. Kienzl said, including that black and Hispanic women more often attend for-profit institutions than public four-year colleges.

The article also leaves out the little inconvenience of having thousands in student loans to pay back, especially for children from poor and low-income families who have no way of helping them pay off those loans. As someone from a working class neighborhood, I can say from firsthand experience how heartbreaking it is for families who invest the time and money to make sure their children are the first in the family to attend college, only to see their children come home with no job and thousands in debt. The higher education system has become a Ponzi Scheme and the people who are responsible for perpetuating the higher education scam and charging hundreds of thousands for useless degrees should be forced to testify before Congress for their crimes.

College and graduate school have only become more accessible because of worthless for-profit scams and lower tier schools. This is far from the world class education for the poor President Obama talks about in his speeches, and he knows that too. It sure sounds nice to say in theory that the United States gives everyone the opportunity to pull themselves up by their bootstraps with a college education. It kind of takes off any blame on the elites for draining the public coffers of billions and instead places it squarely on us powerless unemployed and underemployed citizens for whining too much about our plight. No one talks about the business of selling worthless degrees and a really poor education system at its core. Our public schools are falling apart and some of the teaching at colleges and graduate schools are really bad because the professors are paid not to teach but to publish academic papers. Not only do you waste money on the worthless degree, but you really don't get a good education either. Has anyone graduated from law school prepared to practice law? There's also that little problem of not having enough jobs being created to put 24 million Americans to work.

We at BIDER and other scam bloggers have said this again and again. College and graduate school have ALWAYS benefited the rich who had the money and connections to get the best private school education and admittance into the Ivy League. If they were dumb rich kids, they still had a job guaranteed with the family business or through a business associate. At every level of education since high school, most of the people I know who turn out to be "successful" or at least employed at a well-paying or prestigious job have done so because of their family wealth and connections. The truth is that the degree alone has never helped the majority of people who didn't graduate from top schools at the top of their class. Even a degree from a high ranked school gets you nowhere without connections, unless you are extremely resourceful and lucky.

Must Read From Escape From America Magazine!

I can't believe I didn't know about Escape From America Magazine before last night! I've been trying to escape from America for about a year so I wish I had come across this online magazine sooner. Thank you once again to the Angry Future Expat and MedicineSux for alerting us to this magazine and the article called America-The Grim Truth!

The Angry Future Expat has already pasted the best excerpts from the article in his latest post, so go read that along with the article in its entirety on the Escape From America website. I just can't resist including a few more excerpts for you to read here. There are ways to escape from a life of massive student debt, slave labor and wages, unemployment, and expensive health insurance without the health care. Sallie Mae & Friends would rather have you indebted to them for life by staying right where you are now, but you do have options. You still have a chance at a comfortable, healthy, happy, and debt free life!

You have the worst quality of life in the developed world – by a wide margin.

If you had any idea of how people really lived in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many parts of Asia, you’d be rioting in the streets calling for a better life. In fact, the average Australian or Singaporean taxi driver has a much better standard of living than the typical American white-collar worker.

I know this because I am an American, and I escaped from the prison you call home.

I have lived all around the world, in wealthy countries and poor ones, and there is only one country I would never consider living in again: The United States of America. The mere thought of it fills me with dread.

Consider this, you are the only people in the developed world without a single-payer health system. Everyone in Western Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand has a single-payer system. If they get sick, they can devote all their energies to getting well. If you get sick, you have to battle two things at once, your illness and the fear of financial ruin. Millions of Americans go bankrupt every year due to medical bills, and tens of thousands die each year because they have no insurance or insufficient insurance. And don’t believe for a second that rot about America having the world’s best medical care or the shortest waiting lists: I’ve been to hospitals in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Singapore, and Thailand, and every one was better than the “good” hospital I used to go to back home. The waits were shorter, the facilities more comfortable, and the doctors just as good.

This is ironic, because you need a good health system more than anyone else in the world. Why? Because your lifestyle is almost designed to make you sick.

...

If you’re young, you’ve got plenty of choices. You can teach English in the Middle East, Asia or Europe. Or you can go to university or graduate school abroad and start building skills that will qualify you for a work visa. If you’ve already got some real work skills, you can apply to emigrate to any number of countries as a skilled immigrant. If you are older and you’ve got some savings, you can retire to a place like Costa Rica or the Philippines. If you can’t qualify for a work, student or retirement visa, don’t let that stop you – travel on a tourist visa to a country that appeals to you and talk to the expats you meet there. Whatever you do, go speak to an immigration lawyer as soon as you can. Find out exactly how to get on a path that will lead to permanent residence and eventually citizenship in the country of your choice.

You will not be alone. There are millions of Americans just like me living outside the United States. Living lives much more fulfilling, peaceful, free and abundant than we ever could have attained back home. Some of us happened upon these lives by accident – we tried a year abroad and found that we liked it – others made a conscious decision to pack up and leave for good. You’ll find us in Canada, all over Europe, in many parts of Asia, in Australia and New Zealand, and in most other countries of the globe. Do we miss our friends and family? Yes. Do we occasionally miss aspects of our former country? Yes. Do we plan on ever living again in the United States? Never. And those of us with permanent residence or citizenship can sponsor family members from back home for long-term visas in our adopted countries.

In closing, I want to remind you of something – unless you are an American Indian or a descendant of slaves, at some point your ancestors chose to leave their homeland in search of a better life. They weren’t traitors and they weren’t bad people, they just wanted a better life for themselves and their families. Isn’t it time that you continue their journey?

Read the entire article now!

Don't Go to College, Experts Say

This will be the BIDER quote of the day:

"A four-year degree in business – what's that get you?" asked Karl Christopher, a placement counselor at the Columbia Area Career Center vocational program. "A shift supervisor position at a store in the mall."

I know someone with a college degree who now works as a manager at a mall store. She spent years looking for a "respectable" white-collar job, but gave up after a long line of low wage internships that went nowhere and didn't end up in a full-time job offer (sound familiar?). She's actually quite happy at her job which gives her a stable 40 hours each week, benefits, and enough money to support her young daughter. No, being a store manager doesn't sound as fancy as a job working for a non-profit, advertising company, university, shitlaw firm, or newspaper. But being a store manager probably pays as much or even more than these so-called white-collar jobs. At least it beats doc review for the JD crowd, right?

Which is why this young woman's decision to go to welding school over college might be a good idea:

In a town dominated by the University of Missouri's flagship campus and two smaller colleges, higher education is practically a birthright for high school seniors like Kate Hodges.

She has a 3.5 grade-point-average, a college savings account and a family tree teeming with advanced degrees. But in June, Hodges is headed to the Tulsa Welding School in Oklahoma, where she hopes to earn an associate's degree in welding technology in seven months.

"They fought me so hard," she said, referring to disappointed family members. "They still think I'm going to college."

Hodges should send her parents over to BIDER. Many of our readers have expressed the desire to work as welders, plumbers, and electricians. Why? Because it sure as hell beats being unemployed or working in doc review. Attending college and graduate school no longer guarantees anyone a decent paying, 40-hour/week job.

The notion that a four-year degree is essential for real success is being challenged by a growing number of economists, policy analysts and academics. They say more Americans should consider other options such as technical training or two-year schools, which have been embraced in Europe for decades.

...Spending more time in school also means greater overall student debt. The average student debt load in 2008 was $23,200 – a nearly $5,000 increase over five years. Two-thirds of students graduating from four-year schools owe money on student loans.

Angel and I have always said that college is not for everyone. I lean more towards college for good students who can get scholarships and vocational school for the rest who couldn't even get a 3.0 in high school. Really, what is the point of spending money to continue something one doesn't excel in when they can make money doing something else like being a store manager or welder which pays as much as what most college and graduate students end up making these days in an entry level job (if they can find one). Ninety-nine percent of college graduates shouldn't even bother with graduate school unless you get a full scholarship to a top 10 school or your parents are rich enough to support your "funemployment" trip around the world when you graduate. In this new economy, work experience gets you the job before someone with an advanced degree:

"College is what every parent wants for their child," said Martin Scaglione, president and chief operating officer of work force development for ACT, the Iowa-based not-for-profit best known for its college entrance exam. "The reality is, they may not be ready for college."

...Scaglione suggested that nothing short of a new definition for educational success is needed to diminish the public bias toward four-year degrees. He advocates "certification as the new education currency – documentation of skills as opposed to mastering curriculum."

"Our national system is, 'Do you have a degree or not?'" he said. "That doesn't really measure if you have skills."

Fleeing the Country, Part II

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post because some of you wanted more info on resources that can assist in your search for job opportunities abroad. Yes, it is becoming more difficult to move to a foreign country, but the internet has made it easier for us to find those opportunities.

Some of the programs I've listed have become increasingly competitive when a few years ago it would've been a piece of cake to get in. I've done a lot of research on several of these programs and applications have doubled in the last year alone. Guess we're not the only ones planning to leave the country. That doesn't mean you shouldn't apply.

Most of the opportunities are to teach English. This is probably one of the easiest ways to get a work visa. As I've said, use the opportunity as a stepping stone to get yourself started in the country you want to live. Many of these programs allow you to renew your contract for a second, third, or fourth year. That gives you time to learn the language, network, meet people (to marry?), and interview for jobs in that country and in nearby countries. I don't know how you'd be able to use your law degree unless it was with an organization like CUSO-VSO which can match JDs and MBAs with NGOs in foreign countries. These jobs won't make you rich, but many offer health care and free housing. You may qualify for Income Based Repayment and loan forgiveness too.

Asia probably offers the most teaching opportunities for Americans. They are also some of the most lucrative after the Middle East. Apparently, Disney (yes, as in Mickey Mouse) has an English language institute in China. The best place to start your search is Dave's ESL Cafe. Tons of reputable recruiting companies post jobs there. The Daily Kimchi is a good blog to read if you are interested in teaching in South Korea. Footprints Recruiting places people in Chile, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

South Korea wages are from 1.8 million won to 2.5 million won/month (approximately $1600 to $2200), Japan - 230,000 to 250,000 JPY monthly (approx. $2400 to $2600), China - ranges from 3200 to 10000 RMB monthly (approx $468 to $1500). Take into consideration Japan has a high cost of living. Most teaching jobs in Asia include housing, health care, and reimbursed airfare. You only need a Bachelor's degree from an American university. You could get paid more if you have teaching experience, a Master's degree, or a TEFL certificate. Sorry, the JD won't get you an income bump.

In Europe, there is the Teaching Assistant Program in France and the North American Language & Culture Assistants in Spain. These programs pay less than teaching opportunities in Asia and you are responsible for airfare and finding your own housing. The French program pays around $1,013/month and the Spanish program pays around $985/month. You are qualified for health insurance. The 2010-2011 program is closed but you can read more at the French and Spanish Embassy website. Also check out the Guide for English Language Assistants in France.

The Work and Holiday visa in Australia is for people 18 to 30 years of age to work and travel for up to 12 months in Australia.
http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday
http://www.visabureau.com/australia/working-holiday-visa.aspx

New Zealand Working Holiday Visa
http://www.visabureau.com/newzealand/working-holiday-visa.aspx

Several other countries offer Working Holiday Visas - not sure how many of these are available to U.S. citizens:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_holiday_visa

If you know of any other programs or jobs for Americans overseas, please add to the list in the comments.

A Must Read Letter

A BIDER fan sent in a letter that is a must read. If this was made into a youtube video it would likely go viral because this person tells some uncomfortable truths about our education system and the state of the nation. I'm sorry that so many of our readers had a horrible school and job search experience after wasting so much money. Good luck and YES definitely think about leaving the country because you deserve better than living at home unemployed for the next decade. There are volunteering and teaching programs in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe that cover health care, housing, and airfare. Look into it!

Dear Angel, Hardknocks, and BIDER readers,

I did not go to law school. I received my Masters degree last year and have been unable to find a full time job. I live with my parents and work temp jobs when I can find them. I am seriously considering moving to another country as Angel and Hardknocks have suggested. The United States will unlikely recover from years of corporate and political corruption and mismanagement that continues to this day. Your JD or Ph.D will not change the damage that has been done to our country's infrastructure and it will not get you a job. I want to advise any college student reading this to take Angel and Hardknocks seriously when they tell you not to attend law school. Also think twice about getting a graduate degree in most disiplines. Maybe you will be unemployed for a while but it is better to be an unemployed college graduate than an unemployed JD or Ph.D after spending countless years in school with $200000+ in loans to pay back.

I have agreed with Hardknocks that education is important in the development of one's mind and understanding of the world. However, higher education has become a Ponzi scheme. It is no longer about educating students but about stealing as much money the universities can get away with charging to pay for unnecessary renovations and give their employees corporate wages all in the name of profits, fake prestige, and US News & World Report rankings. It is a business as corrupt as Goldman Sachs and the so-called academics who make corporate sized salaries have the same amount of sympathy for their victims as Bernie Madoff. I was astonished at how little the administration at my school cared about the student body. They did not take the job search seriously enough and career services has not extended their hand to help the majority of last year's grads find jobs. This is just my personal experience but after reading the law scam blogs this type of attitude seems to be common with administrators and deans at most graduate schools. The money they make is a crime when they know so many of their students will end up jobless and with crushing debt. How can they live with a clear conscience? It's dispicable.

Everything from campus news to the career fair is a public relations stunt. I heard from other students that the employers at our career fair were there only as a favor to career services. They were not serious about giving anyone a job. Most of my classmates did not find a job through the career fair. We were angered that we had wasted our time and money to buy a new suit and print out a hundred resumes only to hear the same thing over and over again: "We're not hiring." So why are you here? Career services had their cameras ready and bragged in a blog post with photos and video about how so many employers came to the career fair. They forgot to mention that no one ended up with a job offer.

I personally cannot wait for the tuition bubble to burst and some of these schools close down for good. Only then will these deans and adminstrators feel what it is like to be unemployed. Or will they purchase a more powerful marketing team to fool the next generation of students? The education industrial complex and the media have successfully brainwashed middle class parents and students at a young age to be ashamed of occupations that use one's hands or don't require an advanced degree. They push students to go to college and ignore signs that some students would do better off as a plumber or electrician. I would love to have one of those jobs right now.

The law school scam movement is one of the few grassroots movements to take on the education industrial complex. College students should feel lucky to have this resource on the web. Those of us several years older did not get honest advise and now our dreams have been destroyed because we chose to further our education. When I listen to politicians and businessmen giving commencement speeches about the importance of an education and doing good in the world, I only hear lies and hypocrisy. These are the criminals who stole money from taxpayers, caused irreversible environmental and economic disasters, continue to send our young men and women to kill and be killed in foreign lands, and have never helped a poor soul in their life unless it's for a photo op. It's sickening but this too is part of the university's publicity stunt.

Don't make the same mistake we did and don't allow these crooks to take any more of our money. They have destroyed an entire generation. The skeptics and non-believers who criticize the law school scam movement should watch their backs because any one of you can be out of a job tomorrow. There is a thin line between the middle class and poverty for most Americans.

In Solidarity,
A Victim

"Revenge of the (Alleged) Deadbeats"

A BIDER fan tipped me off to an article appearing in the New York Times about a former bloodsucker turned avenger. Mr. Katz, a former debt collector, saw the error in his ways when a creditor ruined his credit over a fraudulent bill. He sued and won.

Since then, he has spearheaded the movement cleverly called "Revenge of the (alleged) deadbeats" by opening a school in Tuscon where he lectures debtors on the fine points of fighting debt. I would take it too if it didn't cost money.


A primary focus of his education is how to capitalize on creditors' unscrupulous debt collection practices: such as cell phone harassment and water-boarding. The number of lawsuits is amazing considering how many of our fellow debtors lay down and play dead:

In fact, 8,287 federal lawsuits were filed citing violations of the act in 2009, a 60 percent rise over the previous year, according to WebRecon, a site that tracks collection-related litigation and the most litigious consumers and lawyers on behalf of debt collectors.On Wednesday, the Supreme Court made it even easier for consumers to use the courts to fight debt collectors, ruling that collectors cannot be shielded from suits by claiming they made a mistake in interpreting the law.

I am so happy that this movement is gaining speed. The fleecing of the middle, soon to be lower class, must stop. It is services such as Mr. Katz's that make Americans into educated DEBTORS and not just consumers.

A Minneapolis Attorney is conducting boot camps in conquering debt:

Peter Barry, a Minneapolis trial lawyer, is so bullish on the future of debt collection litigation that he holds several “boot camps” each year to share his secrets with other lawyers who want in on the action. If the debtor wins a court case under the act, the debt collector must pay the lawyer’s fees.The next boot camp is being held in early May in San Francisco, at a cost of $2,495 a person for two and a half days of instruction.


Once again, if only I could afford it. I do think that giving Mr. Barry $2,495 is money well spent if you can avoid a lifetime of harassment and salvage your credit score. I would venture that I am not alone in my use of credit cards after law school to float myself until I started my clerkship in September. After all, when one graduates from law school he has arrived, has he not? We all know that THIS lawyer has not arrived (as in myself). As a consequence, I still have approximately $6000 in credit card debt that I have carried since I was 24.

Actually, I would like to share a sad--but true--story with you. When I was in college, I was a victim of the classic bait and switch. A tactic employed by colleges to draw students into enrolling, wherein a great financial package is available for freshman year and discontinued the year thereafter. I read about this in the book No Sucker Left Behind, which I am going to review and offer in a giveaway soon.

So, to pay for my college education I too engaged in unscrupulous practices. In addition to working 40 hours a week at 3 different jobs, I also wrote papers for people. I know it's wrong, but I was good at it and needed the money. So, my rate was $25/page and more in rush jobs.


I have been MIA lately because I have been working on litigation involving a partnership. I filed a motion and it was 45 pages long.
Now.... stay with me. I am charging a discounted rate of $60/hour because it's a friend and when you start out a practice you are eager for the money. For writing the motion, I charged the client $870.10. I was happy because that is more money than I have seen in a while. Then I realized that my college rate for the same "paper" would have been $1125. Why did I go to law school again? Oh yah, to earn $254.90 less than I did in the nineties. This goes under the category of "sad, but true."