Credentials and The Death of College: When You're Awarded Something for Which You Haven't Earned, You Debase Everyone Else's Degrees or Accomplishments

Everybody needs a college degree right?  It must be so, because former President Barack Obama said so.  Yet college isn't for everybody.  A former acquaintance on mine said that on his first day of college, the President of that particular University asked students to "Look at the students on (their) your left and right.  There's a good chance that they won't be here by the time you graduate."  His point is well taken:  About 1/4 of students who start a 4 year degree actually finish it on time.  I'd guess that between 3/4 and 2/3 of the students that don't finish the degree within 4 years never get around to finishing their degree.  However, I was stubborn and finished mine many years later, after I'd been married, but before we had children.

Much of the problem begins with people having different learning styles.  I'm much better at being shown what to do once and then trying it out or experimenting in a lab, but some others learn well from books.  The style itself doesn’t keep people from accomplishing the requirements of the degree. It does, however cause a student to require more time to study to learn what is required of them.  Then there are skills gaps in knowing how to study and in time management.  These also hinder the learning process.  Finally, there is the “being out on your own factor,”and young people are notoriously undisciplined and unmotivated to “work at studying,” when there is the opportunity to play.  These factors add up to too many hurdles for many students, who often quit or fail.

There is already plenty of information about you that is available to a prospective employer.  Your Facebook Page, Linked-In page, Twitter Page, Instagram Page, are all available for anyone to see and prospective employers are looking at them.  Social media can be a trap, if you express viewpoints that aren't in the mainstream thoughts.  When you create a Blog Page, it testifies against you, as does which groups you join and with which voluntarily identify.  Your Credit Report can also be used against you.

What makes a college degree so valuable?  The best answer I've ever heard came in a speech from Isaac Morehouse, the CEO of Praxis.  He makes the case that the reputation of the college from which a "graduate" matriculated is the credential for which tuition is exchanged.

In the same way, a Journeyman's Card is the credential that a Craftsman has earned.  With a Journeyman's Card, when Joe Plumber decides to move to a new town, and applies for an opening as a plumber at Anytown Plumbing Services, the Journeyman's Card tells the employer that he has learned the minimum skill requirements for that card.

If a Journeyman wants to go to the equivalent of a Graduate Degree, he/she gets his License from the state and county in which they live.  This license, accompanied by their Inspection Pass Percentage Rating (usually found on the local county's website), are their credentials, that they understand how to safely wire, plumb for water and sewer or plumb for combustable gas.  Note that there are different levels of licensing for these certifications, that include single family dwellings, multiple family dwellings and businesses.

It is similar for the professional driver.  First, in order to drive any vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of over 10,000 lbs, the driver would need a Commercial Driver's Medical Card that certifies he is healthy enough to drive for up to a single 14 hour shift/week and a maximum of 70 hours in a period of 6 continuous days.  These are issued for a 2-year period, but medical issues such as Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), Sleep Apnea (not getting restful sleep at night, due to being obese, severe allergies or to having lost muscle tone in your throat, Type II (non-insulin dependent) Diabetes or Heart Disease (having had previous heart attacks) can cause your Medical Card to be Reviewed every 6 months to a year (I have Hypertension - well controlled by Medication and Sleep Apnea that is being treated with a 97%+ rate with a CPAP Machine.  Because of these two conditions, my medical card is reviewed every 12 months).

But that's just the start.  The weight of the vehicle you drive determines the "Class" of License you have.  If you drive a vehicle that has a GVWR of over 26,000 lbs., you must have a Class B license, If you're towing a Trailer that has a GVWR of over 10,000 lbs., you need a Class A license.  Then it depends on what you are carrying.  If you carry over 15 passengers, you need a P Endorsement on your license.  If you drive a School Bus, you need a S Endorsement.  If you haul Multiple Trailers, you need a T Endorsement, if you haul Hazardous Materials you need a H Endorsement, if you haul a  Tank mounted to your truck or trailer, you need a N Endorsement, and if your Hauling Hazardous Materials in that tank, you need a X Endorsement.  Then there are the Restrictions.  See this list for all of these. 

Walking in to an employer, with a clean current DMV Driving Check and a CDL gives you instant credibility as to the ability to drive a Commercial Vehicle.  But I've digressed.

So why do I proclaim that college is dead?  Well part of it is daily experiences that I've and probably you've had in life.  How many times have you run into someone, who talks a great game, but "has no game," where it's obvious they no nothing about the job in which they were placed.  How many people do you know  who don't have "common sense?"  How many politicians have you heard say absolutely unbelievable, incomprehensible  things, that have been tried in the "real world," and were found to be "wanting."

More over, as employers decided they wanted more and more of their employees to have a College Degree, colleges responded by ramping up, with many becoming diploma mills.  To counter act the commonality of the degree, certain specialties decided to give their own accreditation to people who studied in their fields with testing, continuing education and qualifications that are outside of the College and University system.  These are Six Sigma Certifications, CPA, CPSM (formerly CPM),  CPSC, and PMP.  I'm sure there are others, but these are ones that I am familiar with.  These Certifications are supposed to make you stand out, when compared to other job candidates, as being qualified for a job., but if that's true, why aren't their "cores" taught as degrees

The truth in any college education ends when  the graduare’s actions belies “meeting the standards that are conferred with all of the rights, privileges, responsibilities, and honors” they achieved in “earning” their degree.  Their education is fraudulent and having a degree, without the knowledge that the degree implies the college is a “degree mill,” which ruins the reputation of the institute that granted that degree.

Let's look at Election of Barack Hussein Obama as President of the United States.  His credentials are as an undergraduate of Occidental University transferring to Columbia University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and as a graduate of Harvard University with a Juris Doctorate Degree in Law, Magna Cum Laude.  His college records have been sealed.

Additionally, he was the editor of Harvard Law Review.  The articles published in the "Review" would be generally of someone's "baby," an idea or ideal of which they have a personal interest, to a person or cause for which someone was wronged.  The thesis would be backed by case law and presented in a logical method.  Yet, as the first African-American editor to hold this presteigious position, he published no articles.  And as a Community Organizer, who brought a minority groups grievances to the public forum, he has very distinct opinions about issues which the law could address.

On a side note, having been elected as POTUS, before he even took office, the Nobel Committee awarded Obama the Nobel Peace Prize.  Let me state that again:  Without any significant accomplishment to further the cause of world peace and before he even took office, President-Elect Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Now the last time I looked up award, the following definitions were listed:

verb

1. to confer or bestow as being deserved or merited or needed

• to give by judicial decree or after careful consideration

noun

1. something that is conferred or bestowed especially on the basis of merit or need

• a judgment or final decision
• the document containing the decision of arbitrators

It would seem to me that he was presented this award maybe just for being the 1st African-American President.  The voters who elected him or the Electoral College or David Axelrod might have better been suited for this presentation.  But if it was given, in the hope that the election of the first Black President of the US would finally heal racial divisions, then why was the award to the voters of the United States who elected him, instead of President Elect Obama?  It can now be successfully argued that the President whose administration played the Race Card at every opportunity and so often that a "your race card has been declined" card was devised, who arguably set racial relations back 150+ years, is the last person to whom anyone with a brain or conscience would award a Nobel Peace Prize.  And If it was given because Obama was the first black candidate, that's also wrong and Jessie Jackson should have gotten the prize.

Now let's look at another "genius with college degrees."  His name is Paul Krugman and he's also a Nobel Prize recepient, but his award was in Economics.  Now Economics is more about theory than it is actual science, because even if we can read the signs and understand when growth will occur and when decline will occur, it's really about people, how much debt they decide to carry and how much discretionary income they decide to spend at any point in their life.  

Recessions and Depressions used to be called Panics, and with good reason.  One day everything is going along well.  A person is comfortable with the amount of debt they are carrying.  Then something unexpected occurs.  Maybe it's sickness, job loss, an unexpected expense such as a house fire, theft of an item that you needed, a legal judgement against them or a wreck in which you unexpectedly had to replace your vehicle.  Then they are in a bind and initially panicing.  This can happen on a national scale with wars and rumors of war, drought and famine, floods, severe weather and fires, supply interruptions, whether they are acts of GOD Roman made crises and political upheavals and crises.  And these don't even have to be our own continent to create the panic.

Whether we wanted to admit it or not, we all have a budget, although many people's budgets aren't formalized and on paper.  Most people know how much income they take home weekly and how much they spend on their weekly necessities.  From there, it's simple math:  Income - Out Go = Discretionary Income.  Sometimes in life, we have no discretionary income, as the necessities of life use ALL of our income.  If the Income is less than the out go, then we have to use savings to fill the 'hole in our budget.'  Sometimes, we have to do this on credit, borrowing against the future and hopefully better times to pay that debt back.  A Physics instructor of mine, many years ago,  once said "Economics is Easy:  If your Income is Less than your Out Go, Your Up Keep will be your Down Fall."  Some times, chance is good to us and we can pay back our debts, other times we go bust.  In old times, those who could not pay their debt were sent to debtor's prison.  In ancient times, people sold themselves into involuntary servitude to pay off their debts.  Now, most people just declare bankruptcy, either getting protection from their creditors to give them time to pay debt off or having to liquidate their assets in order to pay off that debt.

There is SOME SCIENCE involved in Economics.  When a new product that consumers need is produced, people are required to produce/grow mine the raw materials, People are needed to refine/combine? produce materials from the raw materials, that can be used in the manufacturing of the the item.  It must be packaged, stored, shipped (quite often, today this is done in reverse to allow just-in-time shipping of the finished goods to the points of sale), transported, stocked and sold.  There are people who benefit from these jobs all along this supply chain.  When they are paid for their work, their salaries are used to buy food and needed consumer goods.  This "multiplier" is real and it can be calculated with a moderate degree of accuracy.

The other side of Economics is the money with which we pay for items.  Once upon a time, we bartered for goods and services.  We negotiated a trade between two parties with services or goods traded for services or goods.  We eventually accepted precious metals and gem stones in place of these goods or services and they were exchanged for goods or services we wanted from another person.  As individuals formed cities and countries, their governments decided the value of these precious metals and stamped their seal and engravings of their leaders onto specific weights by volume of these metal "coins."  Eventually, coinage became expensive:  Precious metals are soft and "wear away."  

So we replaced coins with paper money that could be exchanged for a like amount of precious metals.  But there is always someone waiting to use their guile and scam others and counterfeit paper money soon showed up.  As this would dilute the value of the paper money, because there was more paper money than what could be redeemed for precious metals, governments worked VERY DILIGENTLY to protect their paper money's value and prosecuted and jailed counterfeiters.  

Then in the late 1960s, after former President Johnson declared the "War on Poverty," expanding Welfare, Medicare, Food Stamps, and Medicaid, President Nixon found he could not pay for a war he inherited from Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and give away all of the assistance to "the needy."  So he made the critical decision to decouple the paper Dollar with the Gold that had previously backed the currency.  This allowed more dollars to be printed and caused the value of the currency to be less.  As producers didn't want to get money with less value, they raised prices and Price Inflation, as we now know it began.  We've watched inflation steal the value of the earnings that consumers have penny by penny and now, 50+ years later, the currency has been devalued to become debased.

I've said all of this to get to the point of interest of how a credentialed authority has said something that is equivalent to "the King has no clothes!"  Paul Krugman is very well educated holding graduate degrees, Yet, he said something that the common man knows in the bottom of his wallet is foolish beyond the pail:  Mr. Krugman essentially argues that government can spend and spend and spend. It can continue to pile up debt without ever worrying to pay it off because we owe it to ourselves. He even surreptitiously hints that anyone who fails to understand this simple notion surely is not of his intellectual level.

In an earlier blog post about the article discussing Mr. Krugman's thoughts about printing money, my comments on were these:  

REALLY?  Gee, How Much Did You Spend To Get That Education? 

and 

Every time I hear someone say something like this, I cringe, recalling the words of a late Manager, who said "You can't borrow yourself into prosperity."  

Borrowing money is a transaction that generally requires repayment with interest.  Merriam-Webster defines Borrow as 

• to take and use (something that belongs to someone else) for a period of time before returning it.
• to take and use up (something) with the promise to give back something of equal value.

As someone who has been in debt and received wise counsel in how to make a budget and eventually (over a LONG PERIOD OF TIME) has become debt free, I warn young people NOT to go into debt.  Debt is borrowing against the future.  And we don't know what the future holds.  

There are some items that we must surely purchase on time, as the cost is too great for 99% of people to be able to pay for those items in total, upfront.  Housing and Transportation come to mind.  

Way back when, in Biblical Times, men pledged themselves as Surety on a Loan,  When they could not pay they became Indentured Servants, working their debt to another person as service.  Then later, people who could not pay their debts went to Debtors Prison.  The state of Georgia was originally founded as an English Debtors Colony, where those in Debtors Prison would have to go to that colony and work off their debt.  This was less than 300 years ago.

When I worked at my first "career" in the Supply Chain of my previous employer, we had a series of jokes that were passed around.  The Punch Line was:  Life is hard.  It's harder if you're stupid.

Often times, we make decisions that at the time look wise, only to find our selves in "a pinch."  Then we have to dig ourselves out of the hole in which we have mistakenly put ourselves.  Those of us who are wise may have "learned about the perils of debt by others' mistakes" or "earned the scars of the perils of debt."  It is hard to watch others learn this lesson, but it's harder for you to live it yourself.

I keep telling myself "If these, our supposed 'betters,' the Educated, who, because they know more, are leading us, then we've been defrauded by those that posses a college education, and those of us who have less financial resources would be better off without a college degree." 

Finally there is the Socialist whiz kid/phenom Freshman Congressional Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  A young pretty Latinx - Her choice of the word defining her culture and ethnicity - of Puerto Rican descent, who claims to have "grown up poor in the Bronx" and got her education at Boston University in Economics.  Yet, she espouses the Socialist mantra at EVERY OPPORTUNITY, with her New Green Deal.  Oh, it sounds so cool, referring to FDR's flawed New Deal.  But the New Deal and its misguided policies turned what would have been a short economic panic into the Great Depression, lasting until World War II.  

As she talked about replacing Airliners with High Speed Rail, California's High Speed Rail, the dream of Jerry Brown, that was going to run at 220 MPH between LA and San Francisco was deemed too expensive that current Governor, Gavin Newsome, cancelled it because with cost over-runs, he deemed it too expensive to complete.  Furthermore, they didn't try to build the difficult parts from Los Angeles or San Diego across the mountains to the Central Valley or from San Francisco or Sacramento into the Central Valley.  So what's been left is a Right of Way (No Tracks) to include river bridges and highway overpasses, that in the most probable likelihood will become some part of an Intrastate Highway, unless the Union Pacific or BNSF Railways want to bid on it to replace or supplement their existing tracks.  And of course the debt that was used to start something that was not finished.

Then there's her talk comments about Cow Methane from bovine flatulence.  Methane is supposedly a gas that contributes to global warming, uhh, make that climate change, since we're actually in a cooling period now.  So now she wants to wholesale slaughter cows.  It's the same old story - I don't like it, so you can't have it - about how meat isn't good for you, turned into how meat isn't good for the environment (so now, we'll legislate it to where it's illegal for you to eat it).  Remember, she's already said that "I'm not stuck in here with you:  You're stuck in here with me" and "I'm the Boss."  She believes that she's self-important and has the right and will tell us what to do.

Then there is the Universal Basic Income provision in the Green New Deal for those who can't or won't work.  Not being ABLE to work is a different circumstance from not being WILLING to work.  Sometimes circumstances in life (e.g. disease, injuries or your body wearing out and failing, short of dying) causes us not to be able to work.  I have compassion for those people who can't and believe as a society, it's a good thing to provide a basic income where they can survive.  But for those unwilling to work, their predicament is self imposed.  They deserve NOTHING but contempt from those who work.

Yet these ideas are espoused by someone who graduated cum laude from Boston University with a degree in Economics.  This makes me question what are they teaching up there?

In conclusion, the College Degree has become debased in the following ways:

1. When everyone gets an advanced degree, it becomes the new standard, which everyone must have.
2. Certain disciplines have instituted additional certifications and professional memberships that are above the degree, making the degree another "step" to get their requirements for that discipline.
3. The reputation of knowledge learned a person has for exchanging money, is rarely earned any longer.  Colleges are known for being places to escape parents and experiment with living on your own, sex with other and often multiple partners and mind altering drugs, whether alcohol, legal or illegal.
4. Most graduates come away with a much higher opinion of themselves and believe that the degree for which they've exchanged money, entitles them to a better job.
5. Universities and Colleges have often conferred upon those who have not accomplished or mastered their discipline and should have never been allowed entry into college based on their performance in High School.

As a parent, who's worked for more than 3 decades and advised his children, I'll give this advice:

1. Choose your vocation wisely.  Find a marketable skill.  
2. Look toward the future, not the present.  Technologies change and careers disappear.
3. Do you really need a college degree for your vocation?  If not, choose the best way to achieve your vocation.
4. IF you choose to go to college, work your way through.  The lessons you learn while on the job will add to your knowledge base.
5. Debt is borrowing against the future.  We don't know what the future holds, but debt eliminates opportunity.  Debt is a subtle enemy that will try to cripple you. It robs you long after you incur it.
6. Be Teachable.  Choose to never quit learning, especially after completing a degree.
7. Listen more than you speak.  You may be shocked by what you you can learn through the perspective of someone else.
8. Be Humble.  Mastering a subject means you will NEVER know it all.
9. Work hard and smart, both in learning and on the job.