Friday, June 17, 2011
Opinions...
There's a phenomenon called confirmation bias, whereby someone will only troll websites, read books, watch news shows, etc., that reinforce already held beliefs. I'm certainly guilty of this, and my already existing points of view really don't really need further exploration. It's beginning to warp my mind.
Although one could say that we should be looking for information that challenges our points of view, if only to better dismantle those arguments. It's a fine and even idealistic notion, but who has the time? College professors, perhaps, or journalists, political bloggers (those who actually get paid for their work, not amateur hacks such as myself...), or those who are both intellectually curious and rich.
As I am none of those, I and billions like me just don't have the time to exhaustively explore every angle or point of view. I do try, and I occasionally learn something I didn't know before, or have a point of view somewhat changed. Radical changes in thinking are probably best left to the younger set; I'm cranky and set in my ways.
Still, all the negativity I read, and hear, and watch are starting to affect me. Actually, it's probably better to say I've just noticed all the effects that had already taken place, much like the damage from smoking only gets noticed when you can't climb the stairs. Still, I can't quit this destructive habit. There's a balance to be achieved, but I haven't quite found it. What counter points I have heard simply haven't convinced me that the system on which we so rely isn't going to come crashing down around our ears.
I guess this is because no one is really satisfied with the system right now, and the radicals on all sides are the one driving the debates. Let's use higher education as an example since it's my field:
Socialists (AKA: The MSNBC crowd) would love to guarantee "free" college to all. Disregarding the logistical nightmare of deciding who would go where, what programs one would allowed to take, the resultant lawsuits, and what would happen to private colleges, I worry what would happen to my profession. Knowing this group, I might actually do best with them in the short term, but the system would run out of money that much faster, leaving me high and dry.
The Right (Fox News 'R us) would limit (if not eliminate) the Pell grant, the smaller programs such as the student equal opportunity grant, and slowly (or not so slowly) choking off funding for public institutions. They would keep student loans, I believe, but it would revert to the private banks and subsidized by the feds. Additionally, tenure (the brass ring in this case), public salaries and pensions and benefits would be limited by statute, and this is in addition to the attack on the right to collectively bargain. New York is in this club, though a only junior member. Our governor is a Democrat, and is changing the rules concerning the retirement age, etc. Of course, these changes would apply to state schools, but these make up the majority of college students. Also, public college pay is generally way better than private school pay. At my first position in financial aid, I was an over-glorified graduate assistant.
This belies the notion Republicans are the only ones who support eliminating or curtailing public salaries, but it's their "issue," and have actually succeeded in changing the law allowing collective bargaining (which Democrats would never do) on a limited basis. This would affect my salary, benefits, and job security. I could see colleges rebelling and trying to undo some of these changes, but they'd be fighting a losing battle. Under these circumstances I my profession could die a slow and ignominious death, and it would be easier to fire me. It would also eliminate some of the private schools hanging on for dear life; speaking of which, I need my MBA transcripts, STAT. Ironically, this may be the best chance for colleges to survive. A little creative destruction is healthy.
The Left (CNN is on honey!) would be the most likely to keep the status quo. Money would pour in to the schools with little regard to the return on investment for either the student or society. We'd subsidize degrees in Art or Ethnic Studies or what have you. The nation would get people with very strong opinions and very little knowledge. Students would get self-esteem boosting and no job prospects.
New grants and loan repayment plans would be created. Essentially, these would be a series of piecemeal programs designed to do the same thing as low mortgage rates: unaffordable educations made accessible via affordable education payments. Now, this isn't automatically the best solution for the students. Student loan debt is crushing our youth, and killing their economic independence and limiting their options. (Hmmm... I may have hit upon something). The cost of school, subsidized the government but not managed by it, would continue to outplace inflation.
I'd have the best situation here, at least until the government money ran out. Depending on when that occurred, I'd have the best chance of a soft landing. I'd still need to find a new profession, but I'd have more time and money in the bank. Note: I also include the Center on this issue. Most people don't believe college is a right, but an opportunity to be earned. That said, those who are talented enough to enter college should have as much help as possible.
The Libertarians (No fucking TV! It's all corporate and governmental controlled
bullshit!) (Actually, I don't have a TV either... Let me think about this.) would be as radical as Socialists. First I need to explain the two schools of though I've found on the topic. The free enterprise mavens, less philosophically against government programs or public colleges than Constitutionalists, would treat colleges like a business, and we'd fight one another to survive. Not a terrific notion, but the system we know would be intact to some extent. The true anti-government Libertarians would blow the system into cosmic dust, with little debate. The entire notion of higher ed would need to be redefined. You can guess what either approach would do those who give out government money to pay for school.
Any of the above approaches are met with a countervailing influence. Those who would eliminate the system, or starve it of money, would immediately be met with cries of racism, union busting, or that they're destroying our children's future. The courts would be involved, with arguments of discrimination, labor law violations, etc. I believe these approaches would fail, as was covered in a previous post. There's no right to college education, and the courts have decided as such. Access cannot be denied on the basis of certain attributes (sex, race, etc.), except under very unusual circumstances. Women cannot enter a Catholic seminary, for example, and Bob Jones University will not accept anyone who isn't a die-hard Protestant. Catholics, atheists, and most everyone else need not apply. The lynch pin is one of disparate effects. Changes in a workplace that would negatively effect a protected class may be illegal, even if the policy isn't overtly discriminatory. Eliminating the Pell grant would hurt the poor, which in turn would hurt minorities. However, the Pell has been reduced in the past, and was not challenged in the courts. As mention, college is not an entitlement, so governmental support is not required under statute. I could go on, but you get the point.
The other point about America's youth is more persuasive. Even a small shrinking of the system would have a profound effect on how people would learn needed job skills. A side from specific fields such as engineering, nursing, medicine, etc. where credentials are needed, a Bachelor's degree is evidence of the skills, intelligence, and dedication to finishing a task needed to learn a company's system. The truth is a little different. College truly isn't needed for most corporate work, only that having one is proof that you might be able to do it. With the price of college way out of line with its value, students may be better off taking honors courses in high school and simply work in the mail room or flipping burgers. I realize that's an over simplification, but it's not as far off as one would like to believe.
Those who would pour money into the system would be met with shouts of deficit spending, bloated college bureaucracies, and insane salaries, benefits, etc. The court invoked on this side is the court of public opinion much more than the legal system. Those of us who work in higher ed are an easy target, with radical professors screaming idiotic rants in the classroom or on TV, along with our pay, benefits, etc. This is truer now than before the economic meltdown, when people felt they had money. Not everyone who works in higher ed makes as much as I do, but when the pink slips were delivered across the nation, the UPS trucks missed our house. As laws change, the idea of civil service as a safe comfortable job with little risk and a generous pension will die, slowly in some cases, and convulsively in others.
Simmering resentment over public workers aside, the argument that government is broke is more convincing over the long term, and is becoming a more mainstream point of view. As I've stated repeatedly, the debt owed by the feds is staggering, and can never be honestly paid. If the feds were to take the honest route, the austerity needed to get our public finances in order would require my industry to tighten its belt as much (if not more) than anybody else. As a general policy, tax will have to rise, but we won't be able to raise taxes enough to prevent cuts. In other words, we would be paying more in taxes and less in services or benefits. Even if we monetize the debt, (QE1, QE2, and pretty soon QE12 to infinity and beyond), the spike in inflation and/or interest rates will make the system unsupportable. We're boned, period. Note: I'm only discussing the standard debt, a little over 14.2 trillion. The total debt including Social Security and Medicare, is around 55 trillion. You have that in the bank? If so, please send some my way.
I won't say these are the only options, or that we won't be able to delay the consequences of our profligate spending, just that eventually the restaurant will close and the bill will be presented with no more chances to order more drinks or another dessert. This is just more grist for the mill; it's time to go. I should leave the research alone for now, I've learned I need to know. Now is the time for action, wherever that may lead.
Although one could say that we should be looking for information that challenges our points of view, if only to better dismantle those arguments. It's a fine and even idealistic notion, but who has the time? College professors, perhaps, or journalists, political bloggers (those who actually get paid for their work, not amateur hacks such as myself...), or those who are both intellectually curious and rich.
As I am none of those, I and billions like me just don't have the time to exhaustively explore every angle or point of view. I do try, and I occasionally learn something I didn't know before, or have a point of view somewhat changed. Radical changes in thinking are probably best left to the younger set; I'm cranky and set in my ways.
Still, all the negativity I read, and hear, and watch are starting to affect me. Actually, it's probably better to say I've just noticed all the effects that had already taken place, much like the damage from smoking only gets noticed when you can't climb the stairs. Still, I can't quit this destructive habit. There's a balance to be achieved, but I haven't quite found it. What counter points I have heard simply haven't convinced me that the system on which we so rely isn't going to come crashing down around our ears.
I guess this is because no one is really satisfied with the system right now, and the radicals on all sides are the one driving the debates. Let's use higher education as an example since it's my field:
Socialists (AKA: The MSNBC crowd) would love to guarantee "free" college to all. Disregarding the logistical nightmare of deciding who would go where, what programs one would allowed to take, the resultant lawsuits, and what would happen to private colleges, I worry what would happen to my profession. Knowing this group, I might actually do best with them in the short term, but the system would run out of money that much faster, leaving me high and dry.
The Right (Fox News 'R us) would limit (if not eliminate) the Pell grant, the smaller programs such as the student equal opportunity grant, and slowly (or not so slowly) choking off funding for public institutions. They would keep student loans, I believe, but it would revert to the private banks and subsidized by the feds. Additionally, tenure (the brass ring in this case), public salaries and pensions and benefits would be limited by statute, and this is in addition to the attack on the right to collectively bargain. New York is in this club, though a only junior member. Our governor is a Democrat, and is changing the rules concerning the retirement age, etc. Of course, these changes would apply to state schools, but these make up the majority of college students. Also, public college pay is generally way better than private school pay. At my first position in financial aid, I was an over-glorified graduate assistant.
This belies the notion Republicans are the only ones who support eliminating or curtailing public salaries, but it's their "issue," and have actually succeeded in changing the law allowing collective bargaining (which Democrats would never do) on a limited basis. This would affect my salary, benefits, and job security. I could see colleges rebelling and trying to undo some of these changes, but they'd be fighting a losing battle. Under these circumstances I my profession could die a slow and ignominious death, and it would be easier to fire me. It would also eliminate some of the private schools hanging on for dear life; speaking of which, I need my MBA transcripts, STAT. Ironically, this may be the best chance for colleges to survive. A little creative destruction is healthy.
The Left (CNN is on honey!) would be the most likely to keep the status quo. Money would pour in to the schools with little regard to the return on investment for either the student or society. We'd subsidize degrees in Art or Ethnic Studies or what have you. The nation would get people with very strong opinions and very little knowledge. Students would get self-esteem boosting and no job prospects.
New grants and loan repayment plans would be created. Essentially, these would be a series of piecemeal programs designed to do the same thing as low mortgage rates: unaffordable educations made accessible via affordable education payments. Now, this isn't automatically the best solution for the students. Student loan debt is crushing our youth, and killing their economic independence and limiting their options. (Hmmm... I may have hit upon something). The cost of school, subsidized the government but not managed by it, would continue to outplace inflation.
I'd have the best situation here, at least until the government money ran out. Depending on when that occurred, I'd have the best chance of a soft landing. I'd still need to find a new profession, but I'd have more time and money in the bank. Note: I also include the Center on this issue. Most people don't believe college is a right, but an opportunity to be earned. That said, those who are talented enough to enter college should have as much help as possible.
The Libertarians (No fucking TV! It's all corporate and governmental controlled
bullshit!) (Actually, I don't have a TV either... Let me think about this.) would be as radical as Socialists. First I need to explain the two schools of though I've found on the topic. The free enterprise mavens, less philosophically against government programs or public colleges than Constitutionalists, would treat colleges like a business, and we'd fight one another to survive. Not a terrific notion, but the system we know would be intact to some extent. The true anti-government Libertarians would blow the system into cosmic dust, with little debate. The entire notion of higher ed would need to be redefined. You can guess what either approach would do those who give out government money to pay for school.
Any of the above approaches are met with a countervailing influence. Those who would eliminate the system, or starve it of money, would immediately be met with cries of racism, union busting, or that they're destroying our children's future. The courts would be involved, with arguments of discrimination, labor law violations, etc. I believe these approaches would fail, as was covered in a previous post. There's no right to college education, and the courts have decided as such. Access cannot be denied on the basis of certain attributes (sex, race, etc.), except under very unusual circumstances. Women cannot enter a Catholic seminary, for example, and Bob Jones University will not accept anyone who isn't a die-hard Protestant. Catholics, atheists, and most everyone else need not apply. The lynch pin is one of disparate effects. Changes in a workplace that would negatively effect a protected class may be illegal, even if the policy isn't overtly discriminatory. Eliminating the Pell grant would hurt the poor, which in turn would hurt minorities. However, the Pell has been reduced in the past, and was not challenged in the courts. As mention, college is not an entitlement, so governmental support is not required under statute. I could go on, but you get the point.
The other point about America's youth is more persuasive. Even a small shrinking of the system would have a profound effect on how people would learn needed job skills. A side from specific fields such as engineering, nursing, medicine, etc. where credentials are needed, a Bachelor's degree is evidence of the skills, intelligence, and dedication to finishing a task needed to learn a company's system. The truth is a little different. College truly isn't needed for most corporate work, only that having one is proof that you might be able to do it. With the price of college way out of line with its value, students may be better off taking honors courses in high school and simply work in the mail room or flipping burgers. I realize that's an over simplification, but it's not as far off as one would like to believe.
Those who would pour money into the system would be met with shouts of deficit spending, bloated college bureaucracies, and insane salaries, benefits, etc. The court invoked on this side is the court of public opinion much more than the legal system. Those of us who work in higher ed are an easy target, with radical professors screaming idiotic rants in the classroom or on TV, along with our pay, benefits, etc. This is truer now than before the economic meltdown, when people felt they had money. Not everyone who works in higher ed makes as much as I do, but when the pink slips were delivered across the nation, the UPS trucks missed our house. As laws change, the idea of civil service as a safe comfortable job with little risk and a generous pension will die, slowly in some cases, and convulsively in others.
Simmering resentment over public workers aside, the argument that government is broke is more convincing over the long term, and is becoming a more mainstream point of view. As I've stated repeatedly, the debt owed by the feds is staggering, and can never be honestly paid. If the feds were to take the honest route, the austerity needed to get our public finances in order would require my industry to tighten its belt as much (if not more) than anybody else. As a general policy, tax will have to rise, but we won't be able to raise taxes enough to prevent cuts. In other words, we would be paying more in taxes and less in services or benefits. Even if we monetize the debt, (QE1, QE2, and pretty soon QE12 to infinity and beyond), the spike in inflation and/or interest rates will make the system unsupportable. We're boned, period. Note: I'm only discussing the standard debt, a little over 14.2 trillion. The total debt including Social Security and Medicare, is around 55 trillion. You have that in the bank? If so, please send some my way.
I won't say these are the only options, or that we won't be able to delay the consequences of our profligate spending, just that eventually the restaurant will close and the bill will be presented with no more chances to order more drinks or another dessert. This is just more grist for the mill; it's time to go. I should leave the research alone for now, I've learned I need to know. Now is the time for action, wherever that may lead.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Lost work....
I have a lengthy blog post sitting in my draft file. One of my more serious essays, I've been working on it for weeks, with no end in sight. I could never nail down a single, cohesive narrative framework for the post, so I just kept writing and writing. This first half of the post was actually decent, but I couldn't quite get the transititon from the set up to the pay-off. After a quick re-read, I still can't, and I've been writing it for over a month.
Chasing my tail isn't really productive, but I felt there was some benefit to my efforts. Less a stream of consciousness and more a laundry list of connected activities, it's at least as long as my Anya post, and approaching my SOBE trip post. Alas, it is no longer relevant. Beginning with a review of the year after AnyaGate, the overarching theme was my taking the ESL certification class here at the college, but the class was a MacGuffin. I was really preparing for a life after financial aid specifically, and WCC in general. The process of deciding to take this class (or, more accurately, why I believed taking the class was necessary), made me stressed and grouchy, but I felt it was an important step in preparing for what I have repeatedly said was inevitable.
In one sense, I have benefited, just not the way I expected. Attending these classes has been great, and I have gained confidence in a subject I already had, as well as developing new skills. Lesson planning and pedagogy are those new abilities, and I am thrilled to have acquired them. The forgotten skill was my command of the vernacular. The English language is a royal pain to learn and teach, and few Western languages are as difficult - on both counts. Take this from someone who has tried to learn German since he was 3.
The program was a worthy idea, but the execution was faulty. I simply couldn't keep up with the classes as well as my job and the rest of my life. With this in mind and an office conversation about the workload we're facing this summer, I'm dropping out of the class. I hope I can pick up where I left off next October, but that's a big maybe. As it is, the main reason I wanted to shift to this work isn't even available. The ESL program doesn't have tenure lines anyway, and the workload for even one class is heavy. That didn't mean I wanted to quit, but I really couldn't do a good work on both the class and my real job.
So I sit here with a heavy heart, but a weight lifted from my shoulders. I just sent the email, and the die has been cast. Before sending the email but after deciding this was the correct course of action, I had the most productive day at work in weeks. The irony hasn't escaped me. I have mountains of folders to scale, and I'm mentally clear enough to overcome them. None of this short-term relief changes the macro reality. The big picture remains the same; I still believe things will get progressively worse, and by things, I mean all layers of American society. Economically, we (the average American, local governments, the federal government, yours truly) have debts we cannot pay; jobs are either outsourced or low pay; my profession will cease to exist, and as a nation of laws, we will crumble like the Soviet Union. These will occur regardless of who wins the 2012 election, and whether or not America gains "control" of her spending. That will never really happen, but some people on the Right believe it like some others believe they'll win the lottery with a few Quick Picks.
I still need to prepare, and now is the time to do it. This tactic was either ill-timed, or not the right approach. I'm glad I tried, both for the reasons listed above, and simply because I got off my ass and pushed myself outside my comfort zone. As lousy as I feel right now, I have zero regrets.
Still, this begs the question: what should I be doing? Well, I already know I should be paying off debt, saving money, losing weight, etc. Then again, name me an American who shouldn't be doing those things. Anyway, aside from the general tasks, what else should be I doing or building or learning, or whatever? What vexes me is not that I have no good answer; it's that there may not even be a good answer. The best course of action may be nothing more than laying low, and I mean LOW. No TESOL class, no sailing course, no road trips, nothing beyond getting my Irish passport.
It's scary (and unsatisfying) to come to the conclusion that no plans are really appropriate right now, or a complete waste of time, but I can't argue with the evidence. Collecting new skills has been interesting, even fun, but I haven't been able to use them to truly better my situation. I've also burned through tons of money in the process. Life is so much more enjoyable when you're trying to learn and grow in new directions, but spreading yourself too thin and neglecting your real-world duties is less enjoyable. So, as I sit in the low light of a cloudy evening here at Starbucks, my summer has been restored; to what purpose, I cannot say.
Chasing my tail isn't really productive, but I felt there was some benefit to my efforts. Less a stream of consciousness and more a laundry list of connected activities, it's at least as long as my Anya post, and approaching my SOBE trip post. Alas, it is no longer relevant. Beginning with a review of the year after AnyaGate, the overarching theme was my taking the ESL certification class here at the college, but the class was a MacGuffin. I was really preparing for a life after financial aid specifically, and WCC in general. The process of deciding to take this class (or, more accurately, why I believed taking the class was necessary), made me stressed and grouchy, but I felt it was an important step in preparing for what I have repeatedly said was inevitable.
In one sense, I have benefited, just not the way I expected. Attending these classes has been great, and I have gained confidence in a subject I already had, as well as developing new skills. Lesson planning and pedagogy are those new abilities, and I am thrilled to have acquired them. The forgotten skill was my command of the vernacular. The English language is a royal pain to learn and teach, and few Western languages are as difficult - on both counts. Take this from someone who has tried to learn German since he was 3.
The program was a worthy idea, but the execution was faulty. I simply couldn't keep up with the classes as well as my job and the rest of my life. With this in mind and an office conversation about the workload we're facing this summer, I'm dropping out of the class. I hope I can pick up where I left off next October, but that's a big maybe. As it is, the main reason I wanted to shift to this work isn't even available. The ESL program doesn't have tenure lines anyway, and the workload for even one class is heavy. That didn't mean I wanted to quit, but I really couldn't do a good work on both the class and my real job.
So I sit here with a heavy heart, but a weight lifted from my shoulders. I just sent the email, and the die has been cast. Before sending the email but after deciding this was the correct course of action, I had the most productive day at work in weeks. The irony hasn't escaped me. I have mountains of folders to scale, and I'm mentally clear enough to overcome them. None of this short-term relief changes the macro reality. The big picture remains the same; I still believe things will get progressively worse, and by things, I mean all layers of American society. Economically, we (the average American, local governments, the federal government, yours truly) have debts we cannot pay; jobs are either outsourced or low pay; my profession will cease to exist, and as a nation of laws, we will crumble like the Soviet Union. These will occur regardless of who wins the 2012 election, and whether or not America gains "control" of her spending. That will never really happen, but some people on the Right believe it like some others believe they'll win the lottery with a few Quick Picks.
I still need to prepare, and now is the time to do it. This tactic was either ill-timed, or not the right approach. I'm glad I tried, both for the reasons listed above, and simply because I got off my ass and pushed myself outside my comfort zone. As lousy as I feel right now, I have zero regrets.
Still, this begs the question: what should I be doing? Well, I already know I should be paying off debt, saving money, losing weight, etc. Then again, name me an American who shouldn't be doing those things. Anyway, aside from the general tasks, what else should be I doing or building or learning, or whatever? What vexes me is not that I have no good answer; it's that there may not even be a good answer. The best course of action may be nothing more than laying low, and I mean LOW. No TESOL class, no sailing course, no road trips, nothing beyond getting my Irish passport.
It's scary (and unsatisfying) to come to the conclusion that no plans are really appropriate right now, or a complete waste of time, but I can't argue with the evidence. Collecting new skills has been interesting, even fun, but I haven't been able to use them to truly better my situation. I've also burned through tons of money in the process. Life is so much more enjoyable when you're trying to learn and grow in new directions, but spreading yourself too thin and neglecting your real-world duties is less enjoyable. So, as I sit in the low light of a cloudy evening here at Starbucks, my summer has been restored; to what purpose, I cannot say.
