3 "jobs" x 8hrs/day = 24 hrs/day This would explain why you never actually retained anything from college. Or maybe the 3 "jobs" you worked was really just mowing your neighbor's lawn 3 times?
I'm young, two young kids. Have small college savings funds that will provide both kids with $40K in funds for college tuition. My hope is that in the next year or two I can add an additional fund for each, or make sure I'm saving enough on the side. $40K may not be enough to cover their tuition by the time they reach college, but it's a good start that will help them avoid having too much debt after graduation (and if they graduate with something useful, I'd like to continue helping to pay the loans). I put myself through college for the most part, though the $10K in loans I had after graduating, my parents covered. But yeah... your point generally rings true. I see a lot of people looking around, asking for help.
I worked for the US Geological Survey, Chicago Title and Trust, and the ice arena. I was able to study on the last job since I only had to hand out and take returned states for about 10 minutes per hour. I paid for my own books, tuition, summer school, rent, and food. I like how a conspiracy theory sheep tells me what I retained from college.
This. After 9 years in public accounting, I saw it all. We spent a lot of time cleaning up a ton of basic shit. It seems like the simpler the software, the bigger the mess. If someone was bright enough to use decent software, they were intelligent and knew how to properly enter transactions.
A funny thing is my public grade school taught us how to balance a check book and follow the stock market. Seriously. Useful skills for life. I almost went to Lane Technical High School. Today, tuition there is $1,000/mo. Kids there are on one of two tracks: advanced/college and life skills. Kids who weren't suited for college, and many just aren't, at least learned a skill like auto mechanics, machine shop, cuisine, etc. No child left behind. A side note, at $12K/student, they spend about what public schools do. A second note, Lane Tech has over 4,000 students in the one school.
Previous generations didn't have to support the 1%ers' lifestyle by working for peanuts at 2-3 jobs, while paying an inordinate amount of taxes due to 1%ers no longer paying any taxes to speak of. In the mid-70's I was still not of legal drinking age, making close to $30,000 yr at a union job with incredible benefits and fully-paid healthcare insurance. In-state tuition at either Oregon college was around $3,000-$3,500 yr. Wages are actually lower now, even without adjusting for inflation. Tax burden on a young single is 300-400% higher now. Cost of living is somewhere around 4,000% higher now.
I made minimum wage, $2.50/hour at two of those jobs, $3.50/hour at the third. Median income grew during the Reagan years, it didn't shrink. We bought our first home in 1982, I think it was. $2800 down and a $50,000 purchase price. The escrow period was 90 days. When we applied for our loan, Jimmy Carter's interest rates were still in effect - 18 7/8%. Yes, 18+ %. In the 90 days we waited to close, the rate dropped to 12 1/8. Reagan saved us $400/month in mortgage payments. Screw tax cuts, those wouldn't add up to $400/month. $400/month for 30 years. I wasn't then (nor now) the 1%. I was barely in the bottom of the middle class. That's who he helped. I think you are incorrect about inflation and wages. Only during the Obama years have wages gone down. At least in my lifetime since Jimmy Carter.
