Hello Bill,   
      
   [..]   
      
    BM>> Free tuition is not a new thing.  From 1971 to 1974 I recieved BM>free   
    BM> tuition from CCNY and it certainly wasn't a community college.   
    BM>> Regarding your employer prefernce, why not let merit determine BM>that   
    BM> factor.  Whether free or paid, the level of education is BM>still required   
    BM> to attend and succeed.  So, to me at least, if a BM>student receives free   
    BM> education and graduates with a 4.0 where BM>a student who pays, taking the   
    BM> same courses, gets a 2.4, which   
    BM>> one would you choose?   
      
    LL>> An employer would choose to hire an employee who graduated from an   
    LL>> accredited school rather than from a school that was not accredited.   
      
    BM> Are you saying CCNY is not an accredited school?   
      
   An employer hiring students who graduate from non-accredited   
   institutions would be taking much more of a chance than hiring   
   students who graduate from accredited institutions.   
      
    BM> I think you better do some research on that. The way I was reading things   
    BM> from the start it was a given we were talking about accredited schools so   
    BM> your point is basically moot.   
      
   Not all programs are accredited at institutions that are   
   accredited.  I have a cousin who graduated in engineering.   
   The school he graduated from was accredited, but the school   
   of engineering was not.  So he wound up having to retake   
   all his engineering classes at another institution.   
      
    LL>> The issue is not really whether the student had paid for his/her   
    LL>> tuition or somebody else (taxpayers) had paid for his/her tuition.   
    LL>> The issue for the employer is whether the potential employee is   
    LL>> qualified or not qualified to do the job.   
      
    BM>> I understand the motivation issue as well.  Success is not BM>guaranteed   
    BM> and that should be stressed, but the path to success BM>should be and let   
    BM> the student prove him/herself.   
      
    LL>> A graduate of an accredited institution of higher learning has   
    LL>> already proven himself/herself, regardless of who had paid the   
    LL>> cost of his/her tuition.  As such, the matter of who paid the   
    LL>> tuition should not be a factor, or an issue of concern, of the   
    LL>> employer.   
      
    BM> Agreed...   
      
    LL>> All employees have to constantly prove themselves to their   
    LL>> employers, throughout their careers, regardless of their education.   
    LL>> That much should be obvious.   
      
    BM> Agreed again, but that wasn't the original stipulation of this thread.   
      
   Somebody has to foot the bill for the cost of education.   
   The cost of education has risen dramatically over the past   
   thirty years.  An increase of 1,120 percent, according to   
   the Wall Street Journal.  That is obscene.   
      
    BM> Everyone seems to be getting all worked up over this free tuition.   
      
   Over just the past ten years, the cost of college tuition has   
   increased three times as fast as the consumer-price index.  And   
   you do not expect people to get worked up?  The cost of college   
   tuition has gone up twice as fast as medical care over that   
   same period of time.  And you do not expect people to get worked   
   up?  Money does not exactly grow on trees, my friend.  Not for   
   most folks, anyway.   
      
    BM> The proposal by Sanders is PUBLIC institutions wuold be free.   
      
   Private institutions are free to charge whatever they wish,   
   if they wish to charge anything at all.  That will remain the   
   case, even if Sanders somehow manages to win the presidential   
   election.   
      
   However, the cost of public institutions is never free.  Somebody   
   has to foot the bill.  The only question is who.  And how much.   
      
    BM> In dealing with private institutions, they have to pay for their sports   
    BM> scholarships somehow, so the non-jocks will still owe $200K when their   
    BM> done.   
      
   Louisiana State University is a public institution.  The LSU Alumni   
   Association foots the bill for the cost of renovating Tiger Stadium.   
   This football stadium seats over 100,000 people.  The money that is   
   made during football season more than pays for all the athletic   
   scholarships in every sport for the entire year, plus all the salaries   
   of every coach in every sport.  In other words, LSU is a public   
   institution, but much that goes on is privately funded.   
      
   The cost of paying for college tuition is peanuts.  Consider how   
   much more in taxes the college graduate returns to the state over   
   the course of his/her working life.   
      
   There is only one problem with this.  And I am surprised that you   
   (and others) have not seen it.   
      
   Bernie Sanders wants to do on a national level what Louisiana has   
   been doing as a state.  Georgia also has a similar program, but not   
   quite as sweet.   
      
   You do see the problem now, don't you?   
      
   The state of Louisiana pays for the student's college education.   
   The college graduate then takes his/her services to another state,   
   and earns significantly more than he/she could ever have hoped to   
   have made in Louisiana.   
      
   We now live in a global economy.  People no longer are forced   
   to work in the USA.  Many young people choose to work overseas,   
   in places such as China, Vietnam, Thailand, etc., at wages that   
   pay much more than they could possibly hope for at home.   
      
   It is not just teaching English.  It is also real jobs, such   
   as auto manufacturing.  In a few months, the USA will be importing   
   cars made in China.  And these cars will be better built, and last   
   a whole lot longer, than the Yugo that came here from Europe years   
   ago.   
      
   With President Sanders, we will pay for our young people's education.   
   Then we will send them all to China, where they will make plenty money.   
   And when they return, our young people will own us - lock, stock, and   
   barrel.   
      
   --Lee   
      
   --- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb   
    * Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)