"Both Democrats and Republicans think the major negative about college is the cost ... " And they are both correct. It's sometimes difficult to see value in something that is going to saddle you with literal years of debt. Debt, interestingly, that cannot be considered in a bankruptcy - unlike, say... a casino or two.
The Republican party is trying to promote the concept that the uneducated person is as smart - or smarter - than one with an education; that education in and of itself is bad, because it indoctrinates people into liberal thinking. That hurts their ability to control through ignorance and fear. They are trying to starve schools of money, remove books, restrict curriculums for control and manipulation. They blame the "Liberal Elite" for taking away their "freedom". They take pride in thinking they're more knowledgeable about communicable diseases than an epidemiologists with a PhD because their cousin's friend had a girlfriend who knew this person who saw something on Fox.
We paid some of the highest school taxes in the state when we lived in Tredyffrin Township - but I think Conestoga High had something like a 95% 4-year college rate. I had no kids in the system, but I gladly paid it. I have also never voted against a school bond. I want an educated population!
And if someone is only going to go through K-12, make sure that their K-12 education is, in fact, education. Teach kids how to think, how to problem-solve, how to differentiate between fact and a 3-second sound-bite.
The problem with college being so expensive is that it truly increases the wealth gap, and the ability of people to "move up". The rich will always be able to afford it, no matter what the cost. And really bright kids get a full boat (or damn close to it) at the Ivies if their parents make less than $200,000 - $300,000/year (depending on Ivy).
This is a disaster for certain professions that require advanced learning - like medicine and many of the sciences. As you know, to be a doctor requires lots of schooling, plus internship and residency, more for Board certifications.
I want GREAT education for K-12, lots of vocational education, critical thinking and even life skills. But I also want there to be colleges and universities for those that need that level of education to be able to make their contributions to society.
But why is it that Black people and other POC (talking about Philadelphia, which I know best) overwhelmingly vote Democrat? Even less educated people of color understand voting in their best interests. Lancaster city, Allentown, Reading -- these are majority minority cities that are blue dots in an otherwise red/pink landscape. Perhaps segregation at work and neighborhoods keeps folks from sharing their knowledge and beliefs with each other.
You are absolutely correct that Black people in Philadelphia both have a low level of educational attainment (13.2%) AND tend to vote Democratic. First, the statistics are stark in terms of educational attainment and voting Republican being a white thing -- it does not hold true for any other races. The research indicates that it has to do with identity.
While everyone cares about the economy, non-white people care more about things that many white people do not - like racial equity, freedom from fear (e.g. "driving when Black") as well as cultural things within various subgroups of Hispanics. For example, Cubans tend to be the most Republican of all the Hispanic groups, due to a couple generations being born after their ancestors left Cuba because of Castro in the 50's. Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans have the highest correlation with Democratic voting relative to other subgroups.
The other thing about Blacks, especially Black women (who vote in huge numbers) view the Democratic Party as the party that has historically (back to the civil rights movement of the 1960's) for Black people, and that trumps education for them.
Very interesting demographic data. I will read further when I am awake. I love living where I do because education is valued for something other than providing football or basketball teams to the community.
But what is with Kentucky? Carville didn't reference it. Carville's exact quote is: Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with ALABAMA in between.
I've lived in PA my entire life, and only rarely hear Pennsyltucky said, and mostly by out-of-staters or non-natives. :-) People here do refer to the T, but only political folks.
You are probably correct about Carville -- when I moved here, it was told to me as "Pennsyltucky" and that it came from Carville and that's probably because I'm not a native like you! I never questioned it until JUST NOW!
It's very Google-able. I was lucky to work with then-Gov. Clinton's team when they came to Philly one day in August of 1992, and I followed him and his people very very closely. (Actually, quite literally, also, as I was a volunteer motorcade driver during that visit.)
"Both Democrats and Republicans think the major negative about college is the cost ... " And they are both correct. It's sometimes difficult to see value in something that is going to saddle you with literal years of debt. Debt, interestingly, that cannot be considered in a bankruptcy - unlike, say... a casino or two.
The Republican party is trying to promote the concept that the uneducated person is as smart - or smarter - than one with an education; that education in and of itself is bad, because it indoctrinates people into liberal thinking. That hurts their ability to control through ignorance and fear. They are trying to starve schools of money, remove books, restrict curriculums for control and manipulation. They blame the "Liberal Elite" for taking away their "freedom". They take pride in thinking they're more knowledgeable about communicable diseases than an epidemiologists with a PhD because their cousin's friend had a girlfriend who knew this person who saw something on Fox.
We paid some of the highest school taxes in the state when we lived in Tredyffrin Township - but I think Conestoga High had something like a 95% 4-year college rate. I had no kids in the system, but I gladly paid it. I have also never voted against a school bond. I want an educated population!
And if someone is only going to go through K-12, make sure that their K-12 education is, in fact, education. Teach kids how to think, how to problem-solve, how to differentiate between fact and a 3-second sound-bite.
The problem with college being so expensive is that it truly increases the wealth gap, and the ability of people to "move up". The rich will always be able to afford it, no matter what the cost. And really bright kids get a full boat (or damn close to it) at the Ivies if their parents make less than $200,000 - $300,000/year (depending on Ivy).
This is a disaster for certain professions that require advanced learning - like medicine and many of the sciences. As you know, to be a doctor requires lots of schooling, plus internship and residency, more for Board certifications.
I want GREAT education for K-12, lots of vocational education, critical thinking and even life skills. But I also want there to be colleges and universities for those that need that level of education to be able to make their contributions to society.
But why is it that Black people and other POC (talking about Philadelphia, which I know best) overwhelmingly vote Democrat? Even less educated people of color understand voting in their best interests. Lancaster city, Allentown, Reading -- these are majority minority cities that are blue dots in an otherwise red/pink landscape. Perhaps segregation at work and neighborhoods keeps folks from sharing their knowledge and beliefs with each other.
You are absolutely correct that Black people in Philadelphia both have a low level of educational attainment (13.2%) AND tend to vote Democratic. First, the statistics are stark in terms of educational attainment and voting Republican being a white thing -- it does not hold true for any other races. The research indicates that it has to do with identity.
While everyone cares about the economy, non-white people care more about things that many white people do not - like racial equity, freedom from fear (e.g. "driving when Black") as well as cultural things within various subgroups of Hispanics. For example, Cubans tend to be the most Republican of all the Hispanic groups, due to a couple generations being born after their ancestors left Cuba because of Castro in the 50's. Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans have the highest correlation with Democratic voting relative to other subgroups.
The other thing about Blacks, especially Black women (who vote in huge numbers) view the Democratic Party as the party that has historically (back to the civil rights movement of the 1960's) for Black people, and that trumps education for them.
Hope that helps!
Good stuff. Keep it up.
Very interesting demographic data. I will read further when I am awake. I love living where I do because education is valued for something other than providing football or basketball teams to the community.
But what is with Kentucky? Carville didn't reference it. Carville's exact quote is: Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with ALABAMA in between.
I've lived in PA my entire life, and only rarely hear Pennsyltucky said, and mostly by out-of-staters or non-natives. :-) People here do refer to the T, but only political folks.
I found the demographic data fascinating also.
You are probably correct about Carville -- when I moved here, it was told to me as "Pennsyltucky" and that it came from Carville and that's probably because I'm not a native like you! I never questioned it until JUST NOW!
It's very Google-able. I was lucky to work with then-Gov. Clinton's team when they came to Philly one day in August of 1992, and I followed him and his people very very closely. (Actually, quite literally, also, as I was a volunteer motorcade driver during that visit.)