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 How many are enrolled to collect Pell Grants for spending money? See
 Is Financial Aid Welfare?

College Graduate Supply 
Exceeds Demand

Colleges pushed out graduates even though supply was outstripping demand and fewer student were receiving economic benefit.

About 41% of our 18- 24-year-olds are enrolled in college.  Only 27% of US 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

21st Century Companies began paying their stars a lot more than Joe Average. 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 from the 
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.