Achronos said:
Well the problem is people want the government to run like a business.
It just can't happen and that notion is extemely bizarre to me.
I agree with you on the education part, but my negativity about accruing debt from higher education is symptomatic. The fact we have treated it as a commodity has severely diminished any true value of the education and only serves as a means to $$$ and a "career". We live in an economy that getting a real education becomes secondary.
My earlier post reflects the problem that we should avert ourselves from education so we don't end up in servitude.
Isn't it sad that we live in a society where it's better to be debt free than actually having any meaning and purpose in ones life? So we increase the cost of school to obscene levels every year and get our children deeper into debt.
We have screwed our children and depend on their backs to carry the weight.
I don't think it is so much that we want the .gov's to act like a business, per se (most of would actually like accountability but trade it for the stability that a free market doesn't give). It's more a matter that we want to see some value for the money we put into it, as well as some benefits, privileges perhaps, in exchange for the freedoms we give up living under their rule. Social contract, and all that jazz. Basically, I accept that I will be living under their rules and I will have to foot a portion of the civic bill. I need a license to drive a vehicle that I purchased, they can regulate my ability to claim land or property for myself, they can regulate my dealings with other human beings - both foreigners and fellow citizens. They can take a portion of my wages and can take more money based on the land that I have already bought, and can add tax to my purchases. In return I expect stability, my property and my life to be defended by them or at the very least have my ability to defend myself upheld, and to be given a number of civic services guaranteed - water, access to food, roads, etc. The problem comes when I feel that I am giving up more freedoms than I want to give up with less payoff in privileges than I consider to make a fair trade and when they take more of my earnings from me that I think it takes to pay my fair portion of the expenses (while others are able to enjoy these for free, giving nothing into the public coffers). When enough people feel the same I believe we have a right to seek reform or to go our own way if we can do these things better.
So, not a business, per se, but I do want to see a trade off.
Formal education will never have a guaranteed fiscal benefit to most people. And furthermore, the state can never educate you. Only you can make money and only you can educate yourself. A school or university can put tools readily at your disposal for learning and can put you in touch with people that can teach you things. But ultimately, you need to be able to learn on your own. My brother dropped out of college. He went for diesel technology. He overhauled his first engine while he was a fourth grader. All the classes gave him was a mentor who has been behind him getting many of the jobs he has had - the first through an apprenticeship program run through the school. But he taught himself. That said, unless you are going to classes for your own personal interest, do not spend money on any program that doesn't have an apprenticeship. This is the closest to fiscal return that you will get.
Unlike my brother, I went to school and got a liberal arts degree. I do not consider it a waste as it gave me many experiences and learning opportunities I would not have otherwise have gotten so easily. Much of my learning has been on my own though, through personal research and study. My job I got through social networking - my best friend's dad is the boss. Never let anything get in between you and building strong and varied friendships. Humans are social animals. The best path to success is through forming and fostering these bonds.
