Several decades ago the Army intelligence school taught us young officers to “be brilliant, be brief, and be gone.” So, this will be a short and concise read.
A few years ago, I wrote a series of Bull Elephant articles on populism, in which I listed several populist objectives that I believed could be enacted over a reasonable period, such as:
- Building the southern border wall (Trump tried).
- Developing a non-woke social media platform (Thanks, Elon).
- Limiting the number of media outlets that any person or corporation could own (No progress).
- Reforming the tax code to make it more middle-class friendly (Trump helped).
- Pushing for parental school choice (GOP too cowardly to take on the teachers’ union).
In the past year or so, it occurred to me that not only did any of these objectives resonate with the under 30 generation, but much of what the GOP has advocated in my lifetime has not been geared in tangible ways to directly benefit younger Americans. “Make America Great Again” and “across-the-board tax cuts” can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, much of it meaning very little to those in the 18-29 age bracket.
It also occurred to me that we Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) should be more empathetic towards the challenges facing our children and grandchildren. We had it good, growing up in a time of increasing median incomes when manufacturing jobs were plentiful, and car and housing costs were not budget busting. For example, in 1979, as a 24-year old E-4 in the Army, I bought a new Ford Mustang for $4,200. Fourteen years later, in 1993, I had a modest, three-bedroom home built on a lake in a middle-class section in Virginia Beach for $139,000. In 1998, I moved to Stafford County into a four-bedroom house with a finished basement for $205,000. Now that same house is going for $565,000.
Tucker Carlson has it right. When college graduates with technical degrees who have been in the labor force for over five years and still cannot afford to buy a new car or a house, we should not be surprised when they consider viewing socialism favorably. Perhaps then, for a change, we should craft policies that will primarily benefit college bound students.
One of the concrete policy objectives that should be a hill to fight on is the overhaul of the higher education system. In short, college today is too long, too ideological, and too costly. The four-year degree is an anachronism, which in most cases can be replaced with a two-year technical certification program. Given the outrageous costs of the average four-year degree, there is absolutely no reason to burden students with having to take 128 credits, when most college majors, counting all prerequisite courses, require only half of that amount. For example, my bachelor’s degree in meteorology (mostly math, physics, and synoptic weather courses) could have been achieved with 64 credits. But I had to take another 64 credits in “electives” such as economics, tennis, history, languages, ethnic studies, et al. Of course, the entrenched academia progressives will fight tooth and nail to maintain their jobs and stranglehold over the minds of our youth, but given the prospects of cutting tuition by 50%, I think a majority of current and college-bound students would welcome and support this proposal.
For that to happen, populism must become the driving force of the GOP, just as woke progressivism has taken hold of the Democratic Party. Populist leaders must forge a coherent and compelling set of policy proposals, such as the one I have just discussed, that will not only attract newer, younger voters, but resonate as well with rank-and-file conservatives and moderate liberals.
5 comments
The colleges and universities are gradually putting themselves out of business. Nobody really needs the soft sciences but everyone needs the hard sciences. If you are going to spend money to send a kid to college, make sure he or she gets something useful for employment and living life.
I think this is one part of a many-headed beast that college has become. We also need to address employers over-inflating credentials such as requiring a bachelors or higher for technical jobs instead of certifications. We need to bring back apprenticeships. I’m actually ok with a well-rounded degree but we should have tiered degrees, perhaps valuing the associates degree again. It used to be that a person could actually get a decent job with an associates degree (2 year degree) but not anymore. This is a cultural infestation that has caused the college mill. Until we fix the cultural value and acceptance of alternatives no matter what someone proposes, it won’t be acceptable in the work place. I for one am sick of working with people with degrees instead of working with educated people.
One of the many issues in the article relates to mandated college courses & costs. I relate that to a book, in which two or three chapters are useful and the rest are fluff. In Virginia, the focus on skilled labor has begun to develop a, much less costly, career path offered by Jr. Colleges. And they are getting hired. Perhaps the Universities and Colleges in the commonwealth should take note(s).
There has to be a focus on cutting cost at universities. Sports programs need to go. Massive student centers. Go. Black Safe space buildings like at UVA… Go. LGBTWTF programs. GONE. Paying faculties for that bullshit is outrageous. No massive building programs like you see on every campus. Cut down dorms. As you say, make the course programming relevant and get rid of the crap.
Colleges have sucked up the government money and have spent it wildly. Your ideas make sense but not if we can’t get the government out of the business of funding colleges.