Far from the street theater and lefty ravings of the Occupy Wall Street protest, ordinary people are posting dispatches about their economic struggles at the “We Are the 99 Percent” Web page. If you put aside the political rants, the stories are a stark pointillist portrayal of the grinding misery of the Great Recession.
And Bank of America has very little to do with it. The recession has added a layer of joblessness on top of punishingly dysfunctional and expensive health-care and higher-education systems. Despite themselves, the people posting at the 99 Percent page aren’t really making an implicit case for burning down the financial system, but for blowing up how we handle health care and higher education.
College students and recent graduates are overrepresented. Their complaint comes down to too much debt, and too few job opportunities to get out from under it. There’s the guy with the master’s from Harvard who owes $60,000 and lives off temp jobs. There’s the woman who is paying her $50,000 debt and the $20,000 debt for her 22-year-old daughter. And on and on.
The representatives of these debt-burdened graduates shouldn’t be at Zuccotti Park, but at the American Association of University Professors or some other arm of the academic complex that gouges students. College tuition has been increasing at a rapid clip. Does anyone believe that higher ed is getting constantly better? It’s an inflationary spiral, partly driven by a federal student-loan program that feeds the maw of the beast regardless of quality or outcomes.
Another running theme is the high cost of health care and the lack of insurance. One man writes of his job “that pays 15 percent less than it did five years ago” even as “health insurance costs are up over 175 percent.” Expressing a characteristic plaint in an era of stagnating income, he says “Everything costs more, yet I make less!”
Many of those posting their stories are members of the
Heed the 99 percentworking class or struggling middle class. There is an undercurrent of family breakdown -- the woman whose husband left her after 30 years, the hard-pressed single moms. There are tales of men losing decent-paying jobs and finding nothing comparable.
The puerile ideology of Occupy Wall Street is irrelevant to all of this. Goldman Sachs could be dissolved tomorrow and the wealth of the 1 percent confiscated, and it wouldn’t make college or health care cheaper, or create one new job. If the “revolution” yearned for by the protesters is insipid, there’s no doubt that the moment calls for bold economic reforms and a rethinking of health care and higher education.
President Barack Obama’s misbegotten contribution is a health-care law that won’t control costs and will insure more people only while making the current system more unsustainable. Republicans often don’t even bother to try to connect their program to the troubles of workers down the income scale. The leading establishment Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, wants to cut their capital-gains taxes. The leading tea party presidential candidate, Herman Cain, wants to raise their taxes.
If nothing else, “We Are the 99 Percent” is a reminder that the suffering is real.
Rich Lowry is editor of the National Review.
I have to question your thought process behind your inability to understand why people would pursue an education at a university. Associate degrees at community colleges are very limited, and so are the job opportunities that come with them. You cannot obtain a bachelor's or above at a community college, so anyone who aspires a well-paying career that requires 4+ year degree has to seek their education from a university.
It is fine if you're against university degrees because you think they're expensive, but don't judge someone else for their degree when you have absolutely no idea what kind of degree they obtained, or what career field they are pursuing--two variables that make a significant impact in regards to discussing the cost of higher education.
That's fantastic that your sons and husband are so well educated. It sounds like your son was fortunate to have the Army to help pay for his education. I never disputed that the cost of education wasn't outrageous. I know that very well as am I about to pursue my own master's degree. However, while you do save SOME money by getting a measly associate's degree at a community college, you will still suffer the loss of quality, as well as the debt from the bachelor's degree and master's degrees that follow. Once you tack on all that debt, you really aren't saving an enormous amount of money. I find it hard to believe that your sons "do not have huge loans to pay off" simply because they attended a community college prior to their time spent at university for bachelor's and master's degrees. What about the costs of those degrees?
but yet again YOU are wrong - I paid the bills - many professors in the 4 year colleges cannot speak english well enough for the students to understand them. And you can say it until you are blue in the face - the quality of the education is the same - and Harvard and the ivey league schools are overated. I have worked in law firms where the hiring partners will not even look at an attorney if they have a Harvard education - they expect too much. And paying a "little extra?" 2 year degree at a community college costs under $10,000 - compare that to 2 years at the 4-year college. And the huge loans? My sons may take a little longer to get their degrees but again, when they graduate, they can look forward to not having to pay off huge loans.
Army paid for a small fraction of his education, not the entire education. And there is no way the Army or anyone can ever repay my son or ANY of our military for their sacrifices. My sister-in-law teaches calculus at San Antonio Community College in Gainsville, prior to that she taught high school calculus, her education started in community college, she has her doctorate - my other sister-in-law is a principal of a private school in Texas, also with a doctorate, starting her education in a community college. But you go ahead and keep your nose up high and look down upon those who choose to save, whatever helps you sleep at night.
Another thing, if you think I am a snob because I chose to pay a little bit extra for higher quality education, then you're an ignorant fool, because you don't know a damn thing about me or my education. I chose a university that has VERY reasonable tuition rates and free books throughout the duration of my degree. Considering that my books have cost the school thousands, the cost of my education is only slightly higher than a community college. AND the majority of my professors hold doctoral degrees while the remainder have master's degrees. You will NOT find that in community college. I don't care how many people you claim to know who teach community college. (And what the hell does a principal have to do with this discussion?) And I don't know what colleges you are referencing where the professors can hardly speak English, but that is unheard of. I've never had any sort of language barriers from my professors. Obviously if the professors can't communicate with the students, you probably shouldn't attend in the first place.
Also, I was in no way disregarding the military. I have an enormous amount of respect for the military. When I said that your son is fortunate to have had help, I was simply pointing out that the Army may have contributed to the fact that he doesn't have huge loans.
You seem to have a knack for taking things the wrong way, and making completely false assumptions about things you know nothing about. I had quite a laugh when I saw that you posted, then came back the following morning to insult me. You can call me whatever you'd like, but it still doesn't make you knowledgeable or correct.