CURRENT AFFAIRS: What Can I Say?

This post was making the rounds on Facebook today:

Catchy, isn’t it? Like all words  put together in a rush and thrown out to a hungry public, and they gobbled it right up.

There are two things completely illogical with the above. First, those who believe that they know more about somebody’s profit margins and consumer data and feel that business should be in business to please the public and not to make a living for themselves should at least know that even though THEY prefer salads, the majority of folk evidently do not, and it would be insane to cater to a small faction rather than the masses. If you want to stay in business, that is.

More importantly, there is absolutely no reason to blame the service provider. The options are not $.99 for a burger or $4.99 for a salad. The options are to either go there, or buy a head of lettuce, a bag of carrots or a couple of those Dole salad ready-mades for $1.99 each and have all the salad you can eat for a week.

It’s a sad sign of our times that it’s always somebody else’s fault; the carmaker, the bartender, the fast food business. I shudder to think what our children’s children will be like if we continue on this path. And, we expect society to cover our mistakes.

There is evidently a bill to be introduced asking that certain education loans be forgiven because of the high cost of education and resulting loan balances after graduation, the economy right now not offering college graduates to walk out the ivy walls and into a corner office–or get a job at all, and to “stimulate” the economy.

As to the high costs of tuition and the loans, I’ve read that the average student leaves carrying a burden of $13-25,000 in unpaid loans. Frankly, everyone who has bought a new car owes about the same. Getting a four-year degree that will (someday) increase your income, having it cost an average (on the low side) of $80-100,000 and coming out after four years only owing a quarter or less of that, well that’s damn good, I’d say. Wait’ll you get a mortgage.

The economy is really, really bad right now. This was not something the students may have recognized when they went in, but nobody promised them it couldn’t happen. Go to Plan B. Things change. Adapt.

Stimulate the economy? How? Modifying loan structure and payments, I can understand. But to forgive the loans? How is that seen as fair to anyone who HAS paid for schooling. Or someone like me, who could never afford to go. And if I can’t afford to pay to further my education, I’ll be goddamned if I feel I should pay for theirs.

Society should take care of its own. But not at the expense of others who are only trying to take care of themselves so they  don’t have to look for assistance too.