Presidential Issue #2 
Is College Economically Worthwhile?

"In October 2014, 68.4 percent of 2014 high school graduates were enrolled in colleges or universities, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported..." 4/16/15 Some are enrolled to collect Pell Grants for spending money. See
Education as Welfare

College Graduate Supply 
Exceeds Demand

American colleges push out graduates even though supply was outstripping demand and fewer young people were benefiting financially from college.

41% of our 18- 24-year-olds are enrolled in college.  27% of jobs need formal education beyond HS (chart) so the 14 percentage point oversupply means wage decreases for many graduates.

Only Best and Brightest 
Benefit Economically

Companies started paying their few stars a lot more than Joe Average. These companies looked for stars and paid them bigger dollars. In finance, high tech, and management the spread began to widen between those in the middle and the STARS.

What Counts, Where Not So Much!

Education Reform 

Changing Education Paradigms Video  
What We've Created from 
Royal Society For the Encouragement
 of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
 Leaders Educational Observations
Reflections of a Life-Long Teacher
Education Axioms, Postulates and Corollaries provide the theory for this long-term  Educate the Class of 2030  plan.  

Again Its Our Best and Brightest¹

"In 2011, the top 30 percent of earners with a high-school degree earned more than what 50 percent of workers with an Associate’s degree earned. This same top-earning group of high-school-degree workers also made more than a quarter of workers with bachelor’s degrees. We find that higher-paid high-school-degreed workers are represented more heavily in occupations that require technical post-secondary education attainable through certificates or apprenticeships." clevelandfed.org

Other Education Stuff

Education Libraries

20th Century  Brief History of American Education  

And the Answer Is?
More Relevant Questions 

1. How much should I sacrifice to invest in college? 

2. Are there better economic investments?

¹ Two National Survey of Adult Literacy studies completed in the 1980's yielded the same results.
   Good students succeed whether they go to college or work. The variability would be interesting.