Ooh! Look! An Acorn!

Let's be fair here... I may support Donald Trump, but that doesn't mean someone else can't have good ideas from time to time. I just heard one from Democratic Senator and Presidential hopeful Kirsten Gillibrand. Her idea, in a nutshell, is to allow high school students to get a two-year degree free of charge by doing a year of community service, or a four-year degree free for doing two years of community service.

blogs.edweek.org...

I'm not saying this is a perfect idea, but it is one which I believe is well worth looking into. Firstly, it removes the financial barrier for some kids to get into a decent college program, and secondly it could provide a new source of volunteer labor for charities, and third it has the potential to teach kids how to work for something they want. Are there details that need to be worked out? Sure... what kind of community service is acceptable? I wouldn't say community organizing (aka getting people to vote Democrat) should be considered, but helping out in a soup line, assisting the elderly, that sort of thing is indeed worthwhile. Also, should they be required to maintain a grade point average to continue? Must it be limited to high school, or could someone, say, 20 years old decide they want to take advantage of the program?

I will not be voting for Sen. Gillibrand for President... that honor already belongs to Donald Trump. But that doesn't mean she can't have good ideas, and this is one I think is quite deserving of consideration. What does ATS think?

(The title is a play on the old saying, even a blind hog finds an acorn from time to time, in case anyone is interested.)

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Ill go along with the idea if it's limited to stem degrees.
No social work degrees.

a reply to: TheRedneck

Let's try this instead - instead of giving them a free degree, make it a modified sort of GI Bill. Our soldiers don't necessarily get a free degree for their service, and they sign their lives away for up to 4 years and arguably get more dangerous work.

So why not arrange for a modified GI Bill ... a Service Bill if you will that would pay out like a GI but maybe not as much?

a reply to: TheRedneck

The thing is. . . she's a ####ing Senator NOW!

Why doesn't she push for this NOW!

(because she won't personally benefit from it)

a reply to: Bluntone22

That's another good detail to consider. Maybe not just STEM, but certainly degrees that have marketable value.

TheRedneck

a reply to: ketsuko

That's how she's presenting it, as a modified GI Bill. And yes, I will agree that soldiers deserve more than domestic volunteers, but I think that's an aspect that can be ironed out.

Maybe pay for the majority of the tuition (80%?) with guaranteed student loans for the rest? That would still make the student loan debt much less than it is now.

TheRedneck

a reply to: DBCowboy

That's why I'm not voting for her. She already has the power to implement this... if she were to be elected President, she wouldn't have that power.

Not sure if she realizes that...

TheRedneck

I would include business and education degrees (concentrating upon K-8 teaching) in that list.

Philosophy and "gender studies" are right out.

People are overlooking the current practice of what one party introduces, the other will not support. Would this get a pass? Doubt it.

The only certain thing is military spending and Congressional pay raises.

a reply to: TheRedneck

This is what pisses me off. They come up with actual great ideas that they could implement now, but hold it over the rest of us like a threat if they don't get elected.

This just says they really don't care about any of us.

a reply to: TheRedneck

I dig the concept, but like so many things now.. Id need to know how it would actually be implemented before Id even consider supporting it. Thats really where the vast majority of my issues arise, and I have never been the type to believe I "must" support something because I am an advocate of the core concept.

Generally, I feel that the more educated a populace becomes, the more everyone benefits. So, as long as the cost of its inclusion/implementation doesnt exceed the net benefit (not looking at currency solely either), then I consider it a win across the board and a good investment for the nation. Even if as an individual, the benefits would be indirect.

originally posted by: roadgravel
People are overlooking the current practice of what one party introduces, the other will not support. Would this get a pass? Doubt it.

The only certain thing is military spending and Congressional pay raises.

Sounds like a great opportunity for the Trump Corporation (the company, not the man) to setup a scholarship/grant type of program. The Trump Corporation could solicit from many of the billionaire businessmen as a means to improve the pool of skilled employees....including the trades (electrical, plumbing, etc...). They could get a tax write off, while helping the next generation of employees get the skills they need at an affordable price.

a reply to: Serdgiam

That's the part I was sort of chewing on.

What sort of service qualifies and how are people supported and by whom while they work at their service work?

I could see some members of Congress seeing this as the opportunity to create a ghastly new federalized work force that we all have to pay for and then pay to educate.

a reply to: TheRedneck

Lol....

Republicans will never be down for anything that makes sense lol...

It is the opposite of conservatism..

And conservatives will never agree to anything new.. they prefer to keep failing in the sameway repeatedly and blaming Jesus..

a reply to: TheRedneck

I personally don’t see it as being sustainable. Maybe if they volunteered at the college for the entire length of their education it would be, as it would save the college the salary of a janitor or groundskeeper, but the fact of the matter is that colleges are big business. Money has to change hands to keep the machine turning.

The best case scenario would be government vouchers for completing the community service — but that would just come from the taxpayers anyway. So why not just give them the education for free regardless of whether or not they do “community service”?

Everyone who isn’t directly benefitting from this would only receive a new tax.

a reply to: Krakatoa

I like this avenue better. Sort of a reciprocity. A paid internship in the field a person thinks they want to go into with part of the pay going into their scholarship fund to be matched by the government. There would be no obligation for them to continue in that field if they decided it was not for them. There obligation is final once they finish the intern period, but they leave with practical resume experience in what could their chosen field and money to kick-start their education.

a reply to: JustJohnny

Yeah, you're so right. /rolleyes

Nevermind that it was posted as an actual potential good idea by a conservative and most of the people in here talking about how and if it could be made practical are conservatives while you, the leftist, are in here saying we would never, ever do that.

a reply to: JustJohnny

It is the opposite of conservatism..

And conservatives will never agree to anything new.. they prefer to keep failing in the sameway repeatedly and blaming Jesus..

Oh, really? I believe you have referred to me as a conservative a few times... and others on here have quite frequently. I don't think I've been besieged with people calling me "liberal"...

And I just started a thread supporting this policy. That makes your post an outright blatant lie.

Now, do you have anything to suggest about the actual topic? This ain't the Mud Pit, you know.

TheRedneck

a reply to: ketsuko

There are many good ideas by citizens. That doesn't mean our leaders care to consider them.

a reply to: ketsuko

Its probably one of my biggest issues with this type of thing. And, thats not even considering the legislative bloat that occurs.

Its disturbingly common to use flowery, doubleplusgood language to sell their ideas, and then demonize anyone who disagrees. In this case, itd probably be something along the lines of "the opposition dont want people educated so they can control them better!"

Im sure we will shortly see some doing that very thing (ETA: annnnnd yup!), even though all we know is the idea and not the actual execution. I think thats a BIG problem in our society.. Especially since it rarely actually addresses the core issues folks claim they care about. Hell, in some cases we didnt even know that until it passed!