According to an article on Policy.mic, the free community college program advanced by President Obama will not solve the unemployment problem. That’s because the issue is NOT as is often claimed, a matter of lack of qualified candidates, but of scarce jobs, even in the much-vaunted STEM fields.
Policy.mic cites a study which examined various fields and compared the number of applicants and discovered … guess what? … the number of applicants greatly exceeded the number of jobs in almost every field.
The “more education” solution is particularly appealing to business execs, despite any actual evidence that it would help … because it would increase the number of qualified applicants in all fields, which means they could continue to pay very low wages for employees, since the jobs are so very much in demand. And it’s popular among conservatives and libertarians since it allows them to shift the responsibility to unemployment to those lazy, uneducated kids.
Not a problem at all-that’s not what he claimed it was for, and that’s not what it was designed for. As your article says:
This bit about solving unemployment problems? As the article says, it just a common misconception…but I’m sure it is one Republicans will exploit heavily to put a “FAILURE!!” tag on it.
Getting training in a specific field would still give you a leg up to land one of those coveted jobs, though. There will still be people who don’t get the training, don’t finish the training, or do the training only to realize the field is not for them.
I wonder where on that graph the skilled trades fit. If you look on Craigslist here all of the jobs are skilled or require certification. Forklift, CDL, welding, tool & dye, plumber, electrician, mechanic, hvac etc etc etc. I know plenty of people who would have gone to school for free to get any of those skills to fill those jobs.
Sure, but if training in those specific fields becomes much easier to get, the number of qualified applicants increases, exerting downward pressure on wages, no matter what the field. And I imagine community colleges do offer courses in the areas you mention.
So the community college thing is not about people finding jobs. I agree that all the other benefits listed are good things, I’m totally for education in general. But what then are community college courses for, if not giving one skills to find better jobs?
One thing free community college might do is release some of the pressure for high school grads to get a full-time job post-graduation. Fewer people vyying for the same service industry/retail jobs ==> good for job seekers. And hopefully it will translate into fewer people using the military as a scholarship program, too.
Another thing it might do is reduce the financial burden on students and families, allowing them to spend money rather than save it or hand it over to a lender. More money circulating ==> more jobs.
Then there’s always the possibility that a student might be able to take advantage of this program and go on to become a job creator.
Hell, the program itself may create jobs. Increased enrollment in a CC will translate into a need for more professors, administrators, cafeteria workers, etc.
I say “may” and “might” because I don’t know. But I’m idealistic and hopeful.
On the other hand, free community college may reduce the number of students enrolling in traditional college. Which could negatively impact those schools, many of which are struggling to stay solvent due to rising costs.
One could also take the position that education is a good per se, and should be evaluated on its own merits, rather than simply as a matter of what other options it opens up.
Calling the program ‘free’ is disingenuous. Calling any government program free is disingenuous. Somebody will pay, unless all those teachers/administrators/staff are going to work for free.
My prediction is that, if this were to pass, in about 5 years we’d have a ton of people with newly minted degrees in ‘Global Studies’* or ‘Ornamental Horticulture’ wondering why in the fuck they can’t get a job even though they got a ‘free’ degree.
Slee
What in the fuck is Global Studies? Seriously. From the link
Good point. I think the idea here is that having a more educated population is good in general. More educated citizens are hopefully going to be more likely to vote for politicians with sensible policies and also be more likely to be successful at starting their own businesses. College (even community college) isn’t “just” a job training program.
A program such as this could increase the productivity of the labor force. It could also reduce student debt burdens. It might also be efficient insofar as community colleges give more bang for the buck at the Freshman and Sophomore level, while 4 year colleges shine more in the last 2 years.
The number of jobs in the economy are restrained by the depth of the last recession and fiscal austerity practiced in 2011-2013 in the US. A faster recovery would have involved application of textbook economics and larger budget deficits.