Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Good morning, Everyone.  Nice sunny day with temps in the mid 70s predicted.  I really do need to get off my butt and get a couple of chores done in the garden.  Mom had a medical appointment yesterday and we went out to breakfast after since she had some blood tests scheduled for which she had to fast.  Today we have our grocery shopping to do so we will be going by our supermarket and the city farmers' market a bit later.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Annie's Granny.  Though I don't often comment, I drop by to read your blog every day.

I have seen a couple of other stories on the new Bay bridge in San Francisco including one on last nights national news.  This one on MSNBC is a bit more specific and it doesn't present a pretty picture of the mindset of politicians (and perhaps most of the rest of us.)  The thought that comes to my mind is 'Penny wise, pound foolish.'  The politicians decided to manipulate the process to escape the 'Buy American' requirements for the Federal funds and hire a Chinese firm that had presented the lowest bid for the suspension part of the bridge.  As it turns out the Chinese low-balled the bid.  The project is now over budget to the point where the cost is nearly what the American company (one that had fabricated the steel parts of the original bridge eighty years ago) had bid and it is a year over due.  Isn't it wonderful how the politicians gave jobs, work and boat-loads of money to a Chinese firm that could have gone to Americans and saved virtually no money.  Really smart economics there. (Sarcasm alert!!!)

Here is a story that should put a smile on your faces.

Given the fact that 50% of last year's college grads were unemployed given the last reports I heard and a similar or greater percentage of this year's grads may be joining them, I have to shake my head at this article.  I wonder how many of the lucky 50% from last year found jobs that pay enough for them to make full payments on their student loans.  The last statistics I saw on the amount grads owe on student loans the tally was around $25k for a four year degree.  Is it really worth between $8k and $10k per year for a 4 year degree that will likely not pay your enough to live on and pay off the debt?  I rarely see that question asked in any article telling us how necessary it is to have a college degree to get a job. Why, you wonder, do I assume that the graduate will have loan debt?  Because Congress has been very busy cutting the funding for grants and scholarships so unless students have savings or parents who can foot the bill they will have loans.

Another installment in the file of awesome vertical gardens.

1 comment:

Prairie Cat said...

Since graduating in Dec. 2010, I had not been able to find a job in my degree... for that matter, I could not even find something that would pay more than minimum wage. My fiance received a degree in English, and is a bartender at a hotel... I thought that since I had gotten a more 'practical' degree, I would at least be able to find something. Not the case.

Luckily I have finally found something that starts in a few weeks, but only at around $8/hr. You would think that investing so much into an education would yield a little more than that, after searching for almost two years. But a job is a job, and hopefully it will lead to more opportunities in the future.

Looking at stacks of debt at such a young age is actually quite terrifying. Most of us are still learning to deal with all of the 'regular' bills, and having to pay nearly $600/month (my fiance and my debt combined) when you see no return on that investment definitely leaves a bitter taste in your mouth!