Words from the web
About 250 people, mostly students, took to the streets of Pittsburgh last week as part of the nationwide Million Student March. The marchers demanded free tuition at public colleges, canceled student loan debt and a guaranteed $15-an-hour minimum wage for all campus employees. Do you think any of the complaints are valid? If so, is marching in the streets the right way to go about changing the system? Do you have any advice for the marchers?
“Free tuition would be great, but who will pay for it? Increase for campus employees sounds good, but you just made tuition free. Who will pay their salaries? I smell increased taxes.”
“These kids are ignorant and confused.”
“Quit going to college and learn a trade. Blue collars make the world go round too.”
“I saw a clip of a woman saying, ‘There are so many people here there is no room large enough to hold us.’ That was less than half a mile from the convention center. I ignored the rest of what any of them had to say after that.”
“How about they just quit college, and we just give them a million dollars a year for doing nothing. Or better yet, don’t pay them or anybody anything and nobody works and everybody gets everything for free. What a bunch of babies!”
“Vote Democrat in 2016. You may get tuition help for community college or two years of college (the GOP state of Tennessee has already gone there). Some assistance with student loan debt is possible through common sense reforms. Forget $15 per hour for college campus jobs. That is a state-by-state and local issue. Give serious consideration to joining the military to develop your work skills and take advantage of educational assistance programs, including the GI bill. Talk to people who do not agree with you. There may be some room for compromise. Study more.”
“I believe the demands are valid. College is just a money maker now. Other countries offer free tuition, better wages and their citizens are a lot happier then we are. If we taxed corporations fairly and closed all loopholes, we would not have much of a national debt.”
“What a bunch of spoiled brats! Why don’t they just do what the baby boomers did? Pay relatively nothing for college, graduate with no loans, get an entry-level job with a pension and a salary high enough to buy a house and raise a family with a stay at home wife, and then coast to retirement with full Social Security benefits.”
“Something has to be done to make college more affordable. Maybe marching in the streets won’t get the job done, but it’s a start.”