Page 87 - Crisis in Higher Education

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Understanding the Root Causes

Parents want what is best for their children, and today many parents believe
“the best” is an opportunity to earn a two-year or four-year degree that
provides the financial and intellectual foundation for a long and happy life.
Many of these parents went directly from high school graduation to work on
the factory floor, in clerical and staff positions that led to middle manage-
ment jobs in large corporations, or in service businesses at a time when good
jobs were plentiful and these jobs paid enough to own a home, have a com-
fortable life, and build a good retirement. These jobs often required minimal
training, and in some cases they did not even require a high school diploma.
Many of the parents who took these jobs did well in high school and could
have opted for advanced degrees. Instead, they chose to avoid the expense
and delay of more formal education and earn a good living immediately out
of high school, thereby getting a jump on their high school classmate who
went to college. Besides, a factory job in that era, even without overtime,
paid more than many college graduates would earn after four years of study-
ing to become teachers, business persons, social workers, and others.
What changed this sentiment over the past few decades? There are two
primary reasons for the decline in “good” jobs that require limited educa-
tion or training and no particular skill or talent.

1. “Free trade” deals, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) and favored nation status for China, have opened U.S. mar-
kets to less expensive imports. Even if these deals are fair to all partici-
pating countries, the impact is different for different segments of the
economy. By its nature, free trade creates a global price for goods and
services that can be traded and, by implication, a global wage rate for
those who produced these products. Free trade allows unskilled workers
with minimal education in Mexico, China, the United States, and other

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