"Don't go to college, go to a trade school"

While I did go to college, and got two undergraduate and a graduate degree, I mostly worked in the trades as a master electrician and for a while as an electrical contractor. I'm retired now and I'm a multi-millionaire. I moved in May into a $775,000 6 br, 3 bath house that I paid cash for.
Where guys in the trades don't go into that sort of money is they are content to take a job as an employee making good money and having a comfortable lifestyle with few or no bills by retirement. The key is being able to work hard and know what you're doing.

A few years back--I'm not interested in finding a full-time job anymore--both Boeing and Raytheon wanted to hire me for big bucks because I had a security clearance and knew how do stuff like program and troubleshoot industrial computer coding (ladder logic). They were practically begging me to apply because they couldn't find enough people that did that sort of thing, and it isn't generally taught in colleges.

System1.jpg


The first rung 001 (top line) reads: NAND Bit 5.10, AND Bit 5.11, AND Bit 5.12, OUTPUT Bit 3.1, OR OUTPUT Bit 3.2. I understand what all of that means and how it physically would translate on the machine. That's big bucks because fixing a gazillion dollar machine so it starts producing again quickly is worth paying someone like me big money to be around when it breaks down.

Good ole' ladder logic. They used to use it for pinball machines as well. I don't have the security clearance, but I use this stuff in my business. I build sensors for industrial use (as well as other markets). I've taught ladder logic to a couple of my programmers so they can install the sensors.
Yup. You can get big bucks working in ladder logic! No college teaches it around here at least. None of them have ever heard of it.
 
I call bullshit. Link up.
Oh really? You are just smelling your upper lip.


Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was hammered on Twitter Wednesday after she posted a lengthy thread highlighting the plight of her grandmother in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico.

“Just over a week ago, my abuela fell ill,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) began. “I went to Puerto Rico to see her- my 1st time in a year+ bc of COVID.

This is her home,” the congresswoman added, posting a picture of a dwelling with a damaged roof, little dresser, and no bedding. “Hurricane María relief hasn’t arrived. Trump blocked relief $ for PR. People are being forced to flee ancestral homes, & developers are taking them.” ......


“Shameful that you live in luxury while allowing your own grandmother to suffer in these squalid conditions,” tweeted Daily Wire host Matt Walsh.


“Honey, you drive a Tesla and have two apartments,” Florida GOP congressional candidate Lavern Spicer chimed in. “If your grandmother is living poor that’s because you don’t help her out. I’m surprised that a socialist wouldn’t redistribute that wealth to their grandma. Sad!”

“Sell your Tesla!” added Twitter user @beyondreasdoubt. “You should be ashamed for letting her live like this. We have a responsibility to care for our elders!”
https://nypost.com/2021/06/02/aoc-slammed-for-not-helping-grandma-in-hurricane-hit-puerto-rico-home/

As of 2020, the annual salary for any congressman, from first-term representatives to the most senior members – except those holding leadership positions – was set at $174,000. This was the compensation level set as of January 1, 2009, and frozen by law in the intervening years.
https://work.chron.com/average-salary-first-term-congressmen-8529.html

When my grandmother's house needed repair. I spent an entire summer with my dad remodeling her house. The least AOC could have done would be to help her grandmother out. I guess she is too important to do that though.
 
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i've never been a believer in trickle down, but what you said here doesn't make any sense.............
Of course it does. I already stated that the U.S is like the best country club in the world. It requires dues to be paid in order to keep it running
 
Oh really? You are just smelling your upper lip.

https://nypost.com/2021/06/02/aoc-slammed-for-not-helping-grandma-in-hurricane-hit-puerto-rico-home/

https://work.chron.com/average-salary-first-term-congressmen-8529.html

When my grandmother's house needed repair. I spent an entire summer with my dad remodeling her house.* The least AOC could have done would be to help her grandmother out. I guess she is too important to do that though.

* SFEO.

Where's you proof that she did nothing for her grandmother? All you've shown is bitchiness from the NY Post and its readers.
 
Then you are calling for 'free' education, which must address how that affects any economy

Free public education is a positive thing for the economy because it means instead of spending $400 a month on student loans, that person can spend $400 a month on things that create jobs, like goods and services.

The average monthly student loan payment is about $400, and there are about 50M people with student loans.

So by paying student loans, those 50M are taking about $20,000,000,000 out of the economy every month. EVERY MONTH.

That money doesn't create jobs, doesn't trickle down to anyone, and serves no economic purpose.

The annual total is about $240B a year, or about 1% of GDP.
 
That's complex.

No, that's capitalism.


Will there be a stark difference in pay to teachers/professors?

There isn't now, so why would there be?


Will the quality staff flock to the higher paying private schools?

Who says the private schools will pay higher wages, and not try to drive wages down like they always do?

Since those schools wouldn't be getting as much in tuition if public schools were free, why would they increase their budget for faculty instead of cutting it in order to achieve higher profit margins?
 
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Communism reduces society to the Lowest Common Denominator. Since everyone gets the same for their efforts, no matter how great or little those may be, there is zero incentive to put in more than minimal effort.

You're literally describing capitalism. CEO's C-Suite executives get the same money for their efforts, no matter how great or little those may be, and they have zero incentive to put in more than a minimal effort because all they're trying to do is increase the share price by paying you like dirt.

My favorite thing is when right-wingers try to blame socialism for capitalism's failure.
 
You're literally describing capitalism. CEO's C-Suite executives get the same money for their efforts, no matter how great or little those may be, and they have zero incentive to put in more than a minimal effort because all they're trying to do is increase the share price by paying you like dirt.

My favorite thing is when right-wingers try to blame socialism for capitalism's failure.

You really are delusional. In a capitalist economy you get out what you put in. If you choose to work for someone, you make a deal. If the deal is good for you great. If you made a bad deal, too bad for you. Either way, I and the company made a deal and we each get what we agreed to if we meet the contract. That even goes for union labor.
Executives only get paid and keep their jobs if the company is successful. If it isn't you end up fired either by the rest of management, or by the stockholders / investors.

In a capitalist society, I can work for myself or start my own company. If I invent something I get the fruits of that invention whether I sell it off, or turn it into a product myself.

Capitalism's weakness is it's essentially a PvP world. The good players get rich, the crappy players--like you--get little or nothing. Up your game or be poor.

In communism, everything belongs collectively to the state. I invent something, the state owns it and I get nothing extra for having done that. So, why bother? I can't start a company or work for myself, as everything I do goes to the state who then decides what I get as compensation for my efforts.

Communism's failure is it plays to the lowest common denominator. Everybody gets a participation trophy regardless of effort put forward. Everybody ends up equally poor because the standard is to be poor.
 
If you choose to work for someone, you make a deal. If the deal is good for you great. If you made a bad deal, too bad for you. Either way, I and the company made a deal and we each get what we agreed to if we meet the contract. That even goes for union labor.

This has nothing to do with the topic.


Executives only get paid and keep their jobs if the company is successful.

You mean like this guy?

The South Financial Group, South Carolina's largest bank, announced earlier this week that it had been approved to receive $347 million from the U.S. government. But the bank's founder and longtime CEO Mack Whittle won't be sticking around. He retired with an $18 million severance package in late October, two months earlier than had been expected. Because of the timing, he's free from golden parachute limits (PDF) that come with accepting bailout money.
https://www.propublica.org/article/bank-got-bailout-ceo-got-golden-parachute-1119

Or this guy?

JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon received a stock bonus valued at nearly $16 million for 2009.
https://www.seattletimes.com/busine...n Chase & Co.,crisis, the company said Friday.

Or this guy?

Goldman CEO Blankfein gets $9M stock bonus for 2009
https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/02/05/goldman-ceo-blankfein-gets-9m-stock-bonus-for-2009/

Or this guy?

Morgan Stanley CEO Gorman got $6.5 million in 2009
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...got-6-5-million-in-2009-idUSTRE63049720100401

All those guys were in charge when they destroyed the economy, yet they kept their jobs and got bonuses.

So everything you're saying is debunked by what actually happened.

Capitalism, like Communism, always works in theory, but never in practice.
 
In a capitalist society, I can work for myself or start my own company. If I invent something I get the fruits of that invention whether I sell it off, or turn it into a product myself.

Except that in order to get the business going, you need a loan and chances are that you won't be able to get a loan from a bank because you're not a major corporation or wealthy yourself, so you'll have to turn to the SBA, which is a government agency.

Furthermore, half of all businesses fail by year 5, and those loans they got to start the business are forgiven in bankruptcy court.

So nothing you're saying is reflected in reality the way you think it is.


Capitalism's weakness is it's essentially a PvP world. The good players get rich, the crappy players--like you--get little or nothing. Up your game or be poor.

Capitalism's weakness is that it deliberately ignores the human condition of greed.


In communism, everything belongs collectively to the state. I invent something, the state owns it and I get nothing extra for having done that. So, why bother? I can't start a company or work for myself, as everything I do goes to the state who then decides what I get as compensation for my efforts.

Well, then it's a good thing that no one is calling for that in the US.

What we are calling for is public ownership of sectors of the economy that are for the public good, like health care, education, housing, and energy.

I love the fact that there are 100's of types of soda for me to choose from, but I don't love the fact that there are only a handful of doctors I can choose from because of my insurance provider network.
 
i've never been a believer in trickle down, but what you said here doesn't make any sense.............

Curious your thoughts here (because I could be off). The discussion over the benefits of college isn't a new one but it's taken on a very different twist in the past half decade or so and that's voting. Historically Republicans have often won more of the vote of the college educated. (Generalizing here but historically the Democrats were the party of labor and a decent number of those folks didn't have college degrees and then you had the 'country club Republicans' and that ilk which had degrees at a higher level.)

Then of course with the advancement of technology and the loss of old school manufacturing/factory jobs the need for a college degree became greater but more college graduates still voted Republican. This really started to change in 2016 when Trump winning a far larger share of non-college educated whites than previous Republican candidates and especially in 2020 when we saw college educated voters really turn for Biden. Throw in the fact that in a speech where Trump was listing off all the people he loved he included the less educated. To me, that was the real sea change for those on the left. You see how many of them look down upon those without a college degree (because the assumption is they are a Trump voter).

You can even look ITT and the racism after I posted the meme from one of my old teachers (dude is an Oakland legend and true OG in terms of mentoring kids etc. for well over 30 years) saying a lot of money can be made in jobs like plumbing, drywall etc. People couldn't handle someone saying that because it might imply you could go to trade school to learn that skill instead of four year University (the fact that my teacher is black should be irrelevant to the point being made but he was also speaking to kids in Oakland and surrounding areas who grew up with parents who didn't go to college and may not go to college themselves saying there's still opportunity out there for you.) It's interesting some people can't handle that. Not sure why that's a bad thing but clearly it is.
 
You can even look ITT and the racism after I posted the meme from one of my old teachers (dude is an Oakland legend and true OG in terms of mentoring kids etc. for well over 30 years) saying a lot of money can be made in jobs like plumbing, drywall etc. People couldn't handle someone saying that because it might imply you could go to trade school to learn that skill instead of four year University (the fact that my teacher is black should be irrelevant to the point being made but he was also speaking to kids in Oakland and surrounding areas who grew up with parents who didn't go to college and may not go to college themselves saying there's still opportunity out there for you.) It's interesting some people can't handle that. Not sure why that's a bad thing but clearly it is.

The average wage for a plumber (non-union), is about $10K lower than the national average ($55K).

The average wage for a plumber (union) is right at the national average.

Why are so many people outright lying about how lucrative those jobs are? Because they don't want people going to college and learning that their labor is being exploited.

So they're trying to convince everyone that earning less on average than the national average is "a lot of money".
 
The average wage for a plumber (non-union), is about $10K lower than the national average ($55K).

The average wage for a plumber (union) is right at the national average.

Why are so many people outright lying about how lucrative those jobs are? Because they don't want people going to college and learning that their labor is being exploited.

So they're trying to convince everyone that earning less on average than the national average is "a lot of money".

Trump loves the uneducated. Fascists want the population to be dumb and easily manipulated.
 
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