tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post7736578983259835363..comments2012-12-27T20:50:36.381-05:00Comments on X.Verum-i: NY Times can't get the story straight on collegeX.Verum-ihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14022072314637548449noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-40193183653484679672012-12-27T18:24:48.452-05:002012-12-27T18:24:48.452-05:00In Montana, $50,000 per year is a nice salary. You...In Montana, $50,000 per year is a nice salary. Young men with roommates can easily save over half that money. If they are prudent enough to invest the savings until retirement, they could be rich. <br /><br />People from "lower socioeconomic backgrounds" should not borrow money to attend private universities. They should go to a state school, get good grades, and apply for a private university scholarship for further studies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-4508614766510340362012-12-27T18:04:31.959-05:002012-12-27T18:04:31.959-05:00This girl made so many errors it's ridiculous....This girl made so many errors it's ridiculous. She didn't even bother submitting her financial aid paperwork so had to get a last minute loan. The article tries to paint this as a result of her disadvantaged background but she was just irresponsible. It also sounds like she was in over her head academically. She failed a lot of classes, was overwhelmed, got depressed, dropped out. As far as oil fields being an alternative, it's not really an option for women. The closet women can get to reasonably well paid grunt work is teaching. Education degrees are one of the easiest degrees to obtain and the pay can be decent once in the system long enough, with pensions etc. factored in. My 103 year old grandmother raked in a pension and health insurance for 53 years courtesy of the board of ed. (Not to disrespect her memory, she actually was a very smart lady but women could only be teachers or nurses back then.)islandmommyhttp://gameknot.com/stats.pl?apaturanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-89473589900372219712012-12-27T17:00:41.625-05:002012-12-27T17:00:41.625-05:00Due to the retirements of older machinists there i...Due to the retirements of older machinists there is a lot of demand for specialized blue collar labor. The pay in these fields is better than in many white collar professions. The much discussed proles should be corralled into more narrowly focused machinist trade schools. <br /><br />And, yes, less specialized blue collar jobs don't pay as well as specialized. But this is also true of non-specialized white collar jobs.<br />The Undiscovered Jewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-54543807071132676602012-12-27T14:50:45.963-05:002012-12-27T14:50:45.963-05:00Working in the oil patch is also a non-routine occ...Working in the oil patch is also a non-routine occupation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-5180842243654854022012-12-27T13:57:14.377-05:002012-12-27T13:57:14.377-05:00Yes, college is a bad idea for most. Something li...Yes, college is a bad idea for most. Something like 20-25% of baby boomers went to college, which was probably too many. People whose grandparents didn't go to college probably shouldn't be going to college, and thus the percentage should be lower than it was for the boomers. Realistically we should probably have only 10% going to college: scientists, engineers, and the upper classes.<br /><br />The problem is telling people that they should be the ones to not go. There are families where both parents mistakenly went to college when they shouldn't have. How are these parents going to tell their children to skip college?Tnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-50735118070774438622012-12-27T13:44:20.342-05:002012-12-27T13:44:20.342-05:00What's ironic is the only reason why shale oil...What's ironic is the only reason why shale oil deposits like those you see in North Dakota are even profitable is because of the artificially inflated price of gasoline due to government regulation.mapnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-2182626608596555152012-12-27T13:34:02.304-05:002012-12-27T13:34:02.304-05:00Oilfield work is generally considered highly skill...Oilfield work is generally considered highly skilled labor, yes. It has a career track for the blue collar end which ends at Tool Pusher (which can be a six figure income). The downside is the migratory nature of the job. The upside is that when an oil boom ends one place, that companies will hire americanskis to work anywhere in the world.<br /><br />Around here, the bottom of the barrel makes about $20/hr to start, with buckets of OT available. And wages go up fast.<br /><br />For a moderate intelligence male, college doesn't offer anywhere near this level of opportunity. For those of an entrepreneurial mindset (not necessarily those of very high intelligence), there are tons of opportunity to make bank going into business yourself. Most of the drilling and services companies around here (SE NM) are independent small businesses. Welders can get over $90/hr for jobs, etc...Some Guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-80410505200361973382012-12-27T13:22:21.058-05:002012-12-27T13:22:21.058-05:00X.V-i
"College is not risky at all of the st...X.V-i<br /><br />"College is not risky at all of the student's parents are paying 100% of the bill."<br /><br />The student risks spending several years on an unfinished degree without a payoff. He also risks financial help his parents might have offered in other contexts had the student not wasted their money on an expensive non-degree.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-73361158912394714662012-12-27T12:45:13.916-05:002012-12-27T12:45:13.916-05:00I know at least one poor girl who has over $100k i...<i>I know at least one poor girl who has over $100k in student debt and with her english degree can't hope to make what those oil field workers make.</i><br /><br />I doubt that the oil field companies only hire men.<br /><br />Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266094188872421777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-80456765099754035672012-12-27T10:08:11.028-05:002012-12-27T10:08:11.028-05:00Healy is obliquely warning us that his Ivy League ...Healy is obliquely warning us that his Ivy League friends are planning to ship in Chinese drilling crews who can do the work cheaper with more Transnationalism and Globalvillagism. <br /><br />In other words, "Enjoy it while it lasts, suckas! Now that Real Wages are being paid you are out the door and the coolies are moving in!"Big Billnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-52106308136621577372012-12-27T09:40:08.493-05:002012-12-27T09:40:08.493-05:00I don't consider oil field work routine operat...I don't consider oil field work routine operations. It seems like it would be more like construction work and that would be difficult to automate. marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-79250549157267841312012-12-27T09:04:49.791-05:002012-12-27T09:04:49.791-05:00If the oil dries-up--or rather the oil jobs due to...If the oil dries-up--or rather the oil jobs due to government regulations, then the kids can still go to college if they like. Oil workers are a highly skilled group and there is a lot of demand for people with cutting-edge experience. If the jobs in ND dry-up they will go to Mexico, Nigeria or Brazil.dbphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00457585811847604584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-91992118764333394682012-12-27T08:45:26.790-05:002012-12-27T08:45:26.790-05:00Not Always. I'm stuck with $50k of student deb...Not Always. I'm stuck with $50k of student debt and I didn't even finish. Good thing my plan B worked out, getting a bachelors degree job with an associates degree, or I would have been stuck in low wage slavery for 30 years.<br /><br />I know at least one poor girl who has over $100k in student debt and with her english degree can't hope to make what those oil field workers make. And no her parents aren't helping her. The idiot company that loaned her the money should be liable to lose money on that loan, but alas student loans can't be discharged in bankruptcy (and probably they wouldn't have loaned her the money if it weren't for that which would have been better for everyone.)Navhttp://www.google.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-57111323446734161202012-12-27T08:15:38.688-05:002012-12-27T08:15:38.688-05:00It depends.
College is not risky at all of the st...It depends.<br /><br />College is not risky at all of the student's parents are paying 100% of the bill.X.Verum-ihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14022072314637548449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-24287153196103034482012-12-27T07:30:54.663-05:002012-12-27T07:30:54.663-05:00The worst thing that can happen to an oil field ro...The worst thing that can happen to an oil field roughneck is that they might get their wages cut or lose their job entirely, which leaves them roughly where they started (or ahead of where they started if they saved any of that money). But if college doesn't work out, you're stuck with massive debt that you can't even escape with bankruptcy. Which is riskier?aisaacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-59490589420333097462012-12-27T00:43:58.190-05:002012-12-27T00:43:58.190-05:00Yes, talking about the impact of capital on per-wo...Yes, talking about the impact of capital on per-worker productivity is the same as Continental philosophy.<br /><br />You are no more than a Randian cultist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-17458794306705708602012-12-26T23:33:40.637-05:002012-12-26T23:33:40.637-05:00Why would you assume companies would be any less l...<i>Why would you assume companies would be any less likely to fire white collar workers and replace them with either immigrants or robots?</i><br /><br />Routine occupations are a lot easier to automate than non-routine occupations.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-14012520967609419972012-12-26T23:24:35.106-05:002012-12-26T23:24:35.106-05:00Interestingly enough, some clever person figured o...Interestingly enough, some clever person figured out how to automate Paul Krugman's job way back in 1996.<br /><br />http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-53125041757087000402012-12-26T23:22:43.764-05:002012-12-26T23:22:43.764-05:00It's much harder to fire a white collar worker...It's much harder to fire a white collar worker and replace him with an illegal immigrant or to source out the work to a third party who will then hire an illegal immigrant or to replace the worker with a newly legalized immigrant. This is so obvious, it needs no further elaboration. These things are just not done (yet).<br /><br />SWPLs don't give a damn about working class people. Danielnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-20792536594978318382012-12-26T23:09:58.689-05:002012-12-26T23:09:58.689-05:00Companies will fire anyone if management thinks it...Companies will fire anyone if management thinks it will lead to higher profits. But it's hard to replace skilled labor that requires English-language skills or understanding of American culture with immigrants.X.Verum-ihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14022072314637548449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-11973014701836991872012-12-26T21:21:51.240-05:002012-12-26T21:21:51.240-05:00I doubt you read Paul Krugman, but recently he'...I doubt you read Paul Krugman, but recently he's been writing quite a bit about automation's effect on employment.<br /><br />http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/capital-biased-technological-progress-an-example-wonkish/<br /><br />http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/is-growth-over/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-15117925436111081142012-12-26T21:17:38.874-05:002012-12-26T21:17:38.874-05:00So far there hasn't been any scaling back of t...So far there hasn't been any scaling back of the oil producing activities in North Dakota and elsewhere, and no job losses. Which isn't to say that the situation will continue, of course, as oil is a notoriously boom-or-bust industry. And in any event, the money's good enough that working in the oil fields for just a couple of years can give a worker a nice financial cushion.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266094188872421777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8388228009036933824.post-68013109089811828472012-12-26T20:57:15.299-05:002012-12-26T20:57:15.299-05:00Why would you assume companies would be any less l...Why would you assume companies would be any less likely to fire white collar workers and replace them with either immigrants or robots? The "career track" is becoming a thing of the past.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com