Tuition Chatter

 This past weekend, I was clearing out stuff and came to a 1976 notebook.  

In that fall (I was in the 11th grade)....they had bused us all to some county 'opportunities' day.  Here were five or six colleges....number of trade of schools, and the military recruitment folks.

My conversation with the Auburn/Univ of Alabama folks?  Yearly tuition was $1,500...books were $250, and a whole year of room/board was priced at $1,700 roughly.  I wrote all this into the notebook.

The trouble in assessing all of this...I had no idea of a real occupation or path.  

The military recruitment folks?  The Navy guy seemed hyped-up to interest me.  Marines....less so.  The Air Force had me sold but then the pay thing came up....E1 equaled $400 a month (taking out taxes/SS....you made around $300 a month). 

That Friday night came and I spent two hours thinking over this, and concluded on numbers....the Air Force path made more sense.

Funny, I kept the notebook over the years.  

If you tried to price Auburn today?  Year of tuition is around $12.5k....books around $1,200, and room/board near $15.4k.  Then you come to beer, insurance, and extra pocket-money....probably near $8k a year.

An Election Rule Or Two You Might Want To Remember

In the event we pass the Democratic Convention (19 August to 23 August), and something happens to President Biden....to say he's out as a candidate (health issues one might assume)....what happens?

Well....the Democrats are 'empowered' to fill the empty seat, and it does NOT have to be the VP moving up.  In this case, the party chair would have a talk with with Democratic governors and House/Senate leadership.

In this scenario, I believe it's entirely possible that both the President/VP seats would change out.  

States in a position to say 'no'?  There are two states which have ironclad rules about changing the names after mid-August.  So unless lawsuits occur.....there would be two states denying the name change.

The Republican?  If Trump were knocked out? the Republican National Committee has a rule offering a 2nd national convention or itself (the RNC) could select a new candidate.

Am I suggesting an Oswald-like scenario?  No....but if you asked me....how many FBI or CIA Oswalds currently exist in the US....I would laugh and suggest over 100 easily.

If you suddenly crossed both Joe and Kam off the list in mid-September through this scenario?  In a matter of just a month....Joe would be forgotten, and Kam acting as President....would get almost zero media attention.

Just a curious thing to think about.  

The Slacker Generation

 We had a term in the 1970s/1980s in the Air Force....that we used almost daily....'slacker'.

A 'slacker' was a guy (usually) who didn't put much effort into his work, or his life.  This was the junior airman who wore clothing until it had a ton of body order....meaning he washed his clothing maybe once a month.  This was the guy who mostly hung around the barracks.....if they could find a way to get out of work/duty, then they put effort into that....and they rarely did anything worth discussing except watch TV.

Yeah, a slacker was a loser.

So it occurred to me this week....there's hundreds of thousand of these 18-to-29 year old slackers now existing in America.....living out of dad's house, and doing little in the way of progressing or getting ahead in life.

The trouble here?  Well....slackers don't vote.  They also don't date or get into relationships.  They don't get credit cards....mostly because they have no income.  The Democratic or Republican parties having anything to offer slackers?  No.

Are they even interested in leaving or getting a job?  There's no indicator of that.

As this group grows in the next decade....what exactly can any politician offer....to make them happy?

The College Demonstrations After The Smoke Clears

 Ten thoughts:

1.  I don't see any of these ending by mid-summer or the start of fall classes.  

2.  I think these demonstrations will continue through the Democratic Convention and be a major problem for the city of Chicago.

3.  Nationwide?  I'll predict a minimum of 500 police file disability papers because of injuries.  End cost for police units throughout the US will exceed $1-billion for health cost, and early retirement.

4.  At least 300 lawsuits will be created against both private and public universities for failing to provide education and safety.  Some of these will roll through all of 2025, and even to the end of 2026.  Total cost?  Five-billion-dollars.

5.  Tuition upgrades/cost?  Just for this fall semester, I would imagine schools like Columbia (currently at $66k a year)....will move the tuition close to $71k for next year.  The increase for August 2025?  Probably closer to $79k.  

6.  The donation crowd to the big-name university operations?  They will quietly up and leave.  

7.  Several national corporations will make it clear.....they aren't interested in graduates from the affected universities....leaving over 20,000 2024/2025 graduates standing there with limited job prospects.  The Justice Department will attempt to 'punish' the corporations, but find zero respect.

8.  In several southern states, the protest folks will be shocked that their acts got them into a 5-year potential jail-sentence, and the legal help provided.....has little to offer for a deal.  Upon entering state prisons....most will find the educational level of the prisoners equal to their college-level, and ask how that was possible.

9.  Some leaker within the FBI will admit they are tracking well over $100-million coming in to support the demonstrations from Iran, China and Russia.  Congress will ask why they aren't doing anything, with the answer leading back  to Biden's circle.

10.  The question nationally will be asked.....if 18-year-old kids are going to college and coming out four years later....more stupid....why go to college?