"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...

On 6/20/13 3:23 PM, Califbill wrote:


Depends on the degree.



Here we go again.
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I'll post a link later to the local newspapers report on a college
website as too what people made 5 years after graduation depending
on
degree. A performing arts degree was about $15k I think.


You keep equating the value of liberal arts education only in terms of
what one can earn in a particular field or a particular degree.

I don't accept the premise. What is important is what they can
contribute to our society and to culture generally.

Mozart and Van Gogh died in abject poverty. Their contributions to
society and culture far outweigh their meager earnings. Teachers,
firemen, social workers and nurses are not typically high up there on
the monetary earnings scale, yet they are major contributors to what
makes our society tick.

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True, many of those professions are labors of love or passion. But I
think many who pursue them also tend to be more liberal in philosophy
and are receptive to government programs to assist in what they may
not be able to directly pay for themselves. It would be interesting
to see a breakdown of professional degrees by participation (and
support) of government entitlement programs. My guess is the average
person in the vocational, technical and engineering disciplines
receive less government benefits compared to the average "someone" in
the "arts" for example, simply because they don't qualify. In
addition, you certainly don't hear of many doctors or lawyers
participating in government entitlement programs.

These programs aren't free. Someone pays for them. Who do you think
pays for the bulk of them?