RAR_man Loc: stow, MA

around New England, I see so many HELP WANTED signs out. Rarely saw them before the boost in economy from Trump's deregulation. Companies are generally bullish and hiring. What's not to like. Homeless may or may not be going up. Homeless are less apt to be arrested or rousted now. Drugs are on the rise, which contributes significantly to homelessness, as does breakdown of the family unit. Those factors are known to be significant contributions to homelessness. Joblessness is just one factor and i suspect a minor contributor.

Shutterbug1697 Loc: Northeast

Ah, but here's where your argument falls flat on its face.

Only if you're a direct hire employee, do you qualify for tuition reimbursement IF the employer has a tuition reimbursement program.

Anyone who is a temporary or contact worker doesn't get employer sponsored tuition reimbursement.

There's no tax write off in those cases.

Employers use temperary or contact staffing to avoid paying benefits, you know thise benefits like tuition reimbursement, health insurance, paid time off, etc.!

WNYShooter Loc: WNY

You are truly a poster boy for the typical Democrat voter, always seeing obstacles, more like excuses, to prevent their progress and victimizing them. I used to think like that--until a great mentor I once had straightened me out. Taught me to stop searching for walls blocking my dreams, and to start looking for doors to continue on the path to my goals.

There are plenty of employers out there who offer tuition assistance to part time employees--the employer still gets the full write-off. There are also lots of grant programs out there for low income folks--heck, many schools have funding specifically for low income folks ultimately seeking a degree. True, most of them require 6ch/S, but that is typically two classes, and now days, you can take many of those classes on line.

Education, ie. knowledge, is one of the few assets you can purchase in which can't be repossessed. There are also a huge number of ways to pay for those classes and degrees. I'll also leave you with this. The very worst place to explore how to pay for school is at the schools themselves, you are talking to people trying to sell you a product. Better to find a financial consultant who specializes in college planning, pay for an hour of their time, and have them help put together an affordable plan. They can also help you see what your realistic earning potential might be once you have the Cert/Diploma/Degree. I can't tell you how many folks I know with kids who are sitting on utterly worthless degrees and huge school debt. I blame the parents!

Most people who have a huge school debt don't realize it, but they were victimized by the very politicians who guaranteed school loans in 1965, and especially by those who took the banks out of the mix. Back in the day, if your kid needed a school loan, you went to the bank and applied. The bank in turn would sit you and the kid down and show them a financial analysis of what their proposed degree/diploma would pay, and how much they could actually afford to borrow. School were then forced to compete somewhat on cost. Once guaranteed school loans started, banks were able to be a little more loose with the funds as their exposure was much more limited. In turn, schools started raising their tuition since loan money is now easier to come by, of course the Politicians are always there to save the day and simply increase the loan limits, remove credit worthiness tests, and cosigner requirements, and etc.--and oddly enough, the schools just increase their tuition in response.

The very worst part of this, in taking the banks out of the mix, there was no longer a rational voice at the table explaining to parents and kids the realities of what they were taking on.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Facts are Kryptonite to leftists.

Elaine2025 Loc: Seattle, Wa

The democrats support not arresting drug addicts for crimes and giving them more drugs.......democrats will destroy this country and the people in it.

chrisscholbe Loc: Kansas City, MO

I agree with what you say here.

I especially like the point of looking for doors to keep moving forward.

I do believe that that is what Democrats are trying to do, as well.
We can argue whether they're doing a good job or not...but, that can be for a later time.

I have a BS in Business Administration and can't really say that this degree has directly helped me in my career.
However, I believe that there are a great many things one can learn in college that are not based on the degree program.
Things like how to write a paper/proposal. How to do research.

I do believe that people should pay their student loans.
You borrowed the money, you get to pay it back.
Having some considerations on the repayment plan based on current income is a good idea.

Having a degree, IMHO, can could open some doors that might not otherwise have been available to non degreed persons.

bull drink water Loc: pontiac mi.

it's hard to save when you have to go to your credit card to make it through the month.
it's hard to say no when corps pay MILLIONS in advertising to brain wash us to say yes.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

You faker...I KNOW you know exactly of what I speak. shutterbug makes it seem that he government should do it all for everyone so that we can all be equal in our status in life. Of course what he and the Liberals forget that nobody ever said everyone was equal, only that we were given equal opportunity to do the best we can. That is the part they always forget. The ring is always hanging there for all of us to reach out and grab hold of. But only those who bother to really stretch will ever reach it.

I have met people in my travels who were uncommonly smart but never actually WANTED to achieve anything. They were perfectly happy just being a beach bum or going about their way in a medial job ever though they could have done better if they would have taken a promotional test. There are thousands of police officers and correctional officers who would be great supervisors IF they took a promotional test and scored high on the list to be promoted. But they liked exactly what they were doing and did not want to be promoted.

Dennis

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

So then the employee can go to work for another employer who does offer those benefits. Why do you seem to forget the common sense aspects of working. Basically an employer, every employer says, I have a job that will pay this amount of money to do this job. As a potential employee you have the option of either accepting the position and those conditions or not. If you agree to that level of pay then you don't have a complaint if later on you ask the boss for a raise and he says no. Yet Democrats want to be all controlling and dictate what will be paid for what jobs. They want a high minimum wage so everyone will have a living wage. Tell us the living wage theory for a high school student with no job skills who only wants to work 4 hours a day for three days a week just to make money to pay for dates on weekends.

Dennis

RAR_man Loc: stow, MA

Why would anyone take out loans for over $100k for a degree in medieval art history, women's studies, gay studies, psychology, sociology, etc.? I could never understand it. I remember one former student working in a noodle restaurant, complaining she had over $100k in student loans and she figured it would take a lifetime to pay back. RIGHT! How the hell do you pay off a $100k loan working in a noodle restaurant?

the kicker? In the interview, she declared "It's not fair!"

What's not fair about borrowing money and needing to pay it back? People have to be responsible for their actions. These days, its always somebody else's fault. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their obligations and actions. What's wrong with our society?

Why not go to a community college at night to get a low-budget education while working during the day? that's what kids did when I was a kid. I was lucky. My parents paid my tuition, but I earned money for books, living expenses, etc.

Lousy message to tell all the snowflakes that the government MAY pay off your loan balances.

Now, one can even get a degree in humor or marijuana! Yeah. As a tax payer, I really want to pay off loans for people foolish enough to indebt themselves for life for a degree with a worthless major and little chance of ever landing a good job.

I was a chem major and did very well. I know I was somewhat lucky. But at least I didn't major in psych or sociology for an easy A...and little chance of landing a good job after gaining the sheepskin

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

And that is when the lack of Common Sense really shines through loud and clear doesn't it. But you appear to put the blame on the corporations and not on the people who are actually making the decision. Maybe it is time to put responsibility where it belongs and that is always on the person rather than whatever led them to their decision.

Like millions of others I have been caught up in credit card debt. But there comes a time to just say NO and then do without.

Dennis

RAR_man Loc: stow, MA

Lesson well learned, Dennis. Too many just see what others have and want and don't seem to care about indebtedness. Once heard a former social worker on the radio that explained why she quit her job. She said she was tired of going into the projects and see her cases with the latest and greatest in electronics, etc.; all the things she was either unable to afford or struggling to pay for.

People have to take responsibilities for their actions. They shouldn't be told its not fair that somebody has and somebody has not.

EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THEIR CHOICES. Some learn early. some learn late. Congratulations on learning, Dennis. Good job!

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

To avoid getting a job for as long as possible.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Thanks but you have the very same common sense that I have. Your last two paragraphs prove that. We are all born with equal opportunity but after that it is ALL on us to get ahead. As I pointed out some people honesty don't have a lot of ambition and are happy living a very modest life. Others want the world but want somebody else to pay for it. THAT is where Democrats come in. They want to be the ones to give that person the world even though he has no money nor desire to earn money to buy the world. But Democrats will give him a house he can't afford, put him in a college where he has no desire to achieve anything and so on. At some point it all has to come back to the real person to get off his ass and do something for themself.

Dennis

RAR_man Loc: stow, MA

As an engineer, I always take things back to basics. That's what I always told my charges when they were trying to solve a problem. Back to basics. In this case, I take it back to caveman days. There was free trade. People worked hard to get by. Those that didn't perished. Free trade worked. those that worked hard to survive (building/finding shelter, finding food, etc.) survived. Those that didn't, were imperiled. Nothing's different today EXCEPT governments step in to help with survival. No problem with that for those that truly need. There is a large class of people here that just mooch. Multiple generations of moochers too. Obama, once a community organizer, used to organize courses, etc. to tell people how they can benefit through government programs. Nothing wrong with that EXCEPT when the intent is to mooch and not to get ahead. We make it too easy to be laid back. We don't do enough to help people off of welfare roles.

Some are content to do menial jobs. Good for them. Some aren't content to do anything. Some are able to lift themselves out of poverty. Many have. Nobody is forced to work at Walmart. Some at Walmart have gone from loading docks to management positions. Good for them! Burger flipping shouldn't be looked at as a career; only a stepping stone. We live in strange times!