I have not changed my view, that energy policy should be our number one priority. Getting off fossil fuels and using re-newable fuels including nuclear fission and fusion.
Nothing in an industrial society gets done without energy. I dont want to go back to a farm culture, no thank you. I like my heat and air conditioning and not dying from an ingrown toe nail. I also realize my title to this blog is mis leading, but I'm brushing up on my marketing skills
But to get and maintain our society, we need to work on education. That is, we actually need to educate our population.
While this is necessary for ALL ages brackets, let us focus on a little experiment I did, about 3 years ago.
It was a discussion about the rising cost of college, and what can we do about it. Additionally the subject of professional students and those wasting MOM & DADS money...etc.
So, I opened a spread sheet and the internet and ran some numbers.
There are about 20 million people enrolled in college every year in the United States. Now lets say its 100,000 dollars per year. I know prices range but lets give it a round number. So we need 20 trillion dollars to pay for their school.
Now for the 4 letter word TAXS ( yes I know it should be 5 letters but my skoolling is so poor and 5 letters doesn't have any impact )
If you put a 2 cents tax.... that is point .02, two whole cents tax on every gallon of gas, 2/3 of ever watt of electric power, and on natural gas used, it comes to over 20 trillion dollars.
A two cents tax pays for 20 million kids to go to college for free.
But wait there's more, we'll include measuring cups. No seriously, I'm not suggesting, continued give aways. Wait First, I said you are paying the tax of 2 cents, but than I said you are not paying for college? My idea is not a give away, the students have to earn the free education.
Its a tiered system, of grades to tuition. Now keep in mind this does NOT mean an end to grants, or scholarships ( although it could which would save more money ) but we offer the taxes to pay for college so any grants or scholarships could still be applied. As well as you paying for tuition if you so desire. If you want the education you pay for it with your grades, and proving you are not just waisting every one's time.
The united states will pay 100 percent of your tuition, books, lab fee, dorm, food card, health, if you maintain a 4.0
Get a 3.9 and we pay 98 percent. 3.8 and we pay 96 percent and so on.
If you dont get the 4.0 you make up the difference, that is YOU pay the government back the difference between the two GPA. For example, all your expenses are 100,000 dollars, you get a 3.9 GPA, you owe the government the difference of $2,000 dollars. Grades go down, you pay more, Grades go up you pay less.
Semester by semester.
We are not paying for your pizza, your beer, your partying, we pay for you to attend school, pass and actually do well. You do well you or your parents have less money to spend on a college education.
Please do not tell me about the possible abuses, the possible frauds, they exist now. If we find a teacher , a college/university, or student cheating the system, they will be executed them and dragged them by a bus than have them sold to be turned into bio-fuel.
If this works, we can put the 2 cent tax on other energy sources to extend to trade schools, high schools, but the bottom line is there is a method that pays for education, that doesn't hurt as much as existing methods, and it has the nice ring to it,that the money is being earned.
Your job Mr/Mrs student is to learn, not party but learn, we society reward that, by paying for your education. If you dont do your job, of learning, than you pay a price, in this case its the expense of going to school and coming up with the money we gave the schools to pay for you to attend.
It doesn't matter if you have kids or not. Hopefully in a society you benefit from having a portion of the population know what the hell there doing. You may be single and childless, but that kid over there might be the one to discover the cure for bad hair days, or cancer. If it seems unfair to those who have already paid for there schooling or in the process of paying the loans. Get over it, here is an idea. You already pay for guns, tanks and a section of the interstate highway. If you think you own everything you pay for, go try to have a picnic on the interstate or use an M1 Abrams tank next time your car is in the shop.
This is an industrial society, we need educated people. We really need people who are focused on learning, so here is the incentive, do well or pay money.
How do we make sure they pay ? "WE know where you and or your family live" and your cat is awfully vulnerable while its in the litter box. I dont care what is your excuse is for the grades, we get our money the following semester or you don't get your education paid for, and we get part of your pay checks until the money is paid back SHOULD YOU not maintain your grades. What ever you owe gets paid that year or OR you pay interest on what you owe the tax payers.
If you don't want to be in this system, fine, than you pay the old fashion way, no problem.
But, this method provides that pretty much any one can go to college, and if you deserve to be there, you will get good grades, and you will pay nothing or next to nothing. 3.7 you get 95% .
Neither is it linear, we want you to study and learn. Possible you don't belong in college, not everyone does, But society and its tax money is giving you a chance. At 3.0 GPA for the semester, we pay 89 percent of your college cost. at 2.5 GPA we pay 79 percent. 2.0 gets you 70 percent. 1.5 gets you 45 percent one semester. Yes an arbitrary cut off. 2.0 is the lowest tax payers will pay for.
Realizing that many schools have a different system, we can adjust. But bottom line, is we are paying for college and performance, and it is do able. Most families will be able to save a lot of money using this system.
While and entrance exam, needs to be used, to see if you can handle the material, the money is no issue. If you can be accepted to Harvard, MIT, Ms. Jones Brownie University, than we tax payers will pick up the cost, as long as you maintain the grades.
Higher education should like this, its pretty much guaranteed money for them.
This is the computer age, so checking up to insure its working is not that hard. Depending on how we do this, the grades are entered into a computer, its a click on the enter button to prove the grades have been made.
Knowing this would bother, some of my friends, I don't care why you didn't maintain your GPA. To be honest, I would not qualify for full pay. But paying 10 percent is far better than not going to school because you can not afford the tuition and don't want or can't get loans. How many medical school students do you think would like this program ?
The tax also covers the cost of administering the program. There is really no justification not to do it.
Before you comment to me " We already have 20 million people going to college, or we have the most foreign students applying for our schools, or there is a system in place now"
A) the university portion is a test program, if it works as well as I believe, we will use it for trade schools, any advanced learning schools beyond high school
B) the drop out rate for college is too high, and the debt for the students is too high. And you MBA's out there can figure statistically, even though there will be a higher percentage of people who are a waste of flesh, we will still get a higher return on people who learn something despite themselves. We would open this program to foreign students AFTER 8 years, if it proved to work. I would want to see at least two graduating classes with improved grades and higher rates of graduation, or I would advocate dropping the program and using the money to open a Blimp Pilot school. the percentage of foreign students is dropping as our cost go up.
C) the existing systems in place are too complicated, and costly. Regardless of how hard you study and work in school , you still owe someone your soul for years.
Finally, I like my idea...vote for me. ( no, I'm not running but I needed a catchy close )
Nothing in an industrial society gets done without energy. I dont want to go back to a farm culture, no thank you. I like my heat and air conditioning and not dying from an ingrown toe nail. I also realize my title to this blog is mis leading, but I'm brushing up on my marketing skills
But to get and maintain our society, we need to work on education. That is, we actually need to educate our population.
While this is necessary for ALL ages brackets, let us focus on a little experiment I did, about 3 years ago.
It was a discussion about the rising cost of college, and what can we do about it. Additionally the subject of professional students and those wasting MOM & DADS money...etc.
So, I opened a spread sheet and the internet and ran some numbers.
There are about 20 million people enrolled in college every year in the United States. Now lets say its 100,000 dollars per year. I know prices range but lets give it a round number. So we need 20 trillion dollars to pay for their school.
Now for the 4 letter word TAXS ( yes I know it should be 5 letters but my skoolling is so poor and 5 letters doesn't have any impact )
If you put a 2 cents tax.... that is point .02, two whole cents tax on every gallon of gas, 2/3 of ever watt of electric power, and on natural gas used, it comes to over 20 trillion dollars.
A two cents tax pays for 20 million kids to go to college for free.
But wait there's more, we'll include measuring cups. No seriously, I'm not suggesting, continued give aways. Wait First, I said you are paying the tax of 2 cents, but than I said you are not paying for college? My idea is not a give away, the students have to earn the free education.
Its a tiered system, of grades to tuition. Now keep in mind this does NOT mean an end to grants, or scholarships ( although it could which would save more money ) but we offer the taxes to pay for college so any grants or scholarships could still be applied. As well as you paying for tuition if you so desire. If you want the education you pay for it with your grades, and proving you are not just waisting every one's time.
The united states will pay 100 percent of your tuition, books, lab fee, dorm, food card, health, if you maintain a 4.0
Get a 3.9 and we pay 98 percent. 3.8 and we pay 96 percent and so on.
If you dont get the 4.0 you make up the difference, that is YOU pay the government back the difference between the two GPA. For example, all your expenses are 100,000 dollars, you get a 3.9 GPA, you owe the government the difference of $2,000 dollars. Grades go down, you pay more, Grades go up you pay less.
Semester by semester.
We are not paying for your pizza, your beer, your partying, we pay for you to attend school, pass and actually do well. You do well you or your parents have less money to spend on a college education.
Please do not tell me about the possible abuses, the possible frauds, they exist now. If we find a teacher , a college/university, or student cheating the system, they will be executed them and dragged them by a bus than have them sold to be turned into bio-fuel.
If this works, we can put the 2 cent tax on other energy sources to extend to trade schools, high schools, but the bottom line is there is a method that pays for education, that doesn't hurt as much as existing methods, and it has the nice ring to it,that the money is being earned.
Your job Mr/Mrs student is to learn, not party but learn, we society reward that, by paying for your education. If you dont do your job, of learning, than you pay a price, in this case its the expense of going to school and coming up with the money we gave the schools to pay for you to attend.
It doesn't matter if you have kids or not. Hopefully in a society you benefit from having a portion of the population know what the hell there doing. You may be single and childless, but that kid over there might be the one to discover the cure for bad hair days, or cancer. If it seems unfair to those who have already paid for there schooling or in the process of paying the loans. Get over it, here is an idea. You already pay for guns, tanks and a section of the interstate highway. If you think you own everything you pay for, go try to have a picnic on the interstate or use an M1 Abrams tank next time your car is in the shop.
This is an industrial society, we need educated people. We really need people who are focused on learning, so here is the incentive, do well or pay money.
How do we make sure they pay ? "WE know where you and or your family live" and your cat is awfully vulnerable while its in the litter box. I dont care what is your excuse is for the grades, we get our money the following semester or you don't get your education paid for, and we get part of your pay checks until the money is paid back SHOULD YOU not maintain your grades. What ever you owe gets paid that year or OR you pay interest on what you owe the tax payers.
If you don't want to be in this system, fine, than you pay the old fashion way, no problem.
But, this method provides that pretty much any one can go to college, and if you deserve to be there, you will get good grades, and you will pay nothing or next to nothing. 3.7 you get 95% .
Neither is it linear, we want you to study and learn. Possible you don't belong in college, not everyone does, But society and its tax money is giving you a chance. At 3.0 GPA for the semester, we pay 89 percent of your college cost. at 2.5 GPA we pay 79 percent. 2.0 gets you 70 percent. 1.5 gets you 45 percent one semester. Yes an arbitrary cut off. 2.0 is the lowest tax payers will pay for.
Realizing that many schools have a different system, we can adjust. But bottom line, is we are paying for college and performance, and it is do able. Most families will be able to save a lot of money using this system.
While and entrance exam, needs to be used, to see if you can handle the material, the money is no issue. If you can be accepted to Harvard, MIT, Ms. Jones Brownie University, than we tax payers will pick up the cost, as long as you maintain the grades.
Higher education should like this, its pretty much guaranteed money for them.
This is the computer age, so checking up to insure its working is not that hard. Depending on how we do this, the grades are entered into a computer, its a click on the enter button to prove the grades have been made.
Knowing this would bother, some of my friends, I don't care why you didn't maintain your GPA. To be honest, I would not qualify for full pay. But paying 10 percent is far better than not going to school because you can not afford the tuition and don't want or can't get loans. How many medical school students do you think would like this program ?
The tax also covers the cost of administering the program. There is really no justification not to do it.
Before you comment to me " We already have 20 million people going to college, or we have the most foreign students applying for our schools, or there is a system in place now"
A) the university portion is a test program, if it works as well as I believe, we will use it for trade schools, any advanced learning schools beyond high school
B) the drop out rate for college is too high, and the debt for the students is too high. And you MBA's out there can figure statistically, even though there will be a higher percentage of people who are a waste of flesh, we will still get a higher return on people who learn something despite themselves. We would open this program to foreign students AFTER 8 years, if it proved to work. I would want to see at least two graduating classes with improved grades and higher rates of graduation, or I would advocate dropping the program and using the money to open a Blimp Pilot school. the percentage of foreign students is dropping as our cost go up.
C) the existing systems in place are too complicated, and costly. Regardless of how hard you study and work in school , you still owe someone your soul for years.
Finally, I like my idea...vote for me. ( no, I'm not running but I needed a catchy close )
By Frank3: Part 1 (because I write too much - like my Dad):
ReplyDeleteSo I was in Toronto for business last week and went out to dinner with a colleague. The server was a young woman and we got to talking and she told us that she had a Masters degree in feminist studies. I mentioned that I had a friend who had a PhD in the same field and that she was a professor. The woman responded “Oh yeah, that’s really all you can do with that degree. You have to wait for a professor spot to open and there aren’t many of those.” Putting aside that she is being a little bit narrow in terms of what she could do for a living with that degree, I thought it was kind of funny as it relates to your blog because this is exactly the type of degree that I have no interest in subsidizing.
Your blog talks about a small tax on the energy industry. It is always a “small” tax that someone thinks an entity or industry can afford because they seem to be doing so well and it would be in the greater public good. Small taxes add up because everyone wants just a small tax. Why the energy industry? Why not the entertainment/sports industry? Why not the technology industry? Why not a national tax that everyone and every entity needs to pay? It’s small and it’s in the public good.
Since it is so small, why not a $0.02 tax to fund universal health care and $0.02 for R&D on non-carbon forms of energy? $0.02 for space exploration too. That’s only an extra $0.06 to generate $60T according to your numbers.
As for the math itself, $20T / $0.02 is 1 quadrillion. We use a total of 1 quadrillion units of the forms of energy you listed? I’d like to see the sources for that because that is a mind bogglingly large number even by the standards of an administration that tosses around trillions like it is nothing.
As for basing this on the current 20mm that are enrolled, that’s 20mm when college costs something. Once you make it free it will be a lot more than 20mm who want to try it because it’s free. The more people that want to use it, the more colleges you will need and the more professors we will need. Eventually as you have hired all of the top professors you get to the less qualified. So now you have a large population of students going to college just because it is free being taught by a bunch of unqualified people. Sounds a lot like our elementary public education system. Some of those people who are trying college just because it is free could be wasting their time and ours. Some people just aren’t meant for college and should go to the trade school (which you mention as a possible future opportunity) or just get a job at Starbucks or WalMart. Nothing wrong with that. Work hard and maybe you’ll make manager one day. That’s noble and nothing wrong with that. By subsidizing college you are distorting the system and people will make less optimal choices than they otherwise may have if their was a cost.
By Frank3 - part 2 of my comments:
ReplyDeleteThe country needs more competent graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. You can even throw Medical students in there as the starting salary of a resident in probably in the mid-five figures according to what my friend was making as a resident.
Why not encourage the wealthy people of our country like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates who are dying to pay more taxes, to set up a lot of scholarships to for students who choose to go into these fields and make it so they have to meet your criteria for grades and achievement? Instead of corporations paying lobbyists and giving to charity (why do corporations so that with shareholder money?) why don’t they fund scholarships and programs to help hires with “in-demand” degrees pay back college loans?
Maybe the existing systems in place are too complicated and costly but I don’t agree that “regardless of how hard you study and work in school, you still owe someone your soul for years.” I got two scholarships to pay for undergrad (one from my Dad’s job – the author of this blog – and another from the school) and I got a scholarship for grad school too. You have to find the opportunities and compete for them. Granted not everyone could get the scholarship my Dad got me but they could have competed for the others.
While loans suck they are not the end of the world. My wife had over $20,000 in loans after college and the minimum payment is $155 per month. You know how we handle that expense? I do OK now (I’m a 94% percenter), but I started making about $35K per year back in 1998 so it’s not because I’m rich and can afford it. That’s just less money to go to discretionary things. It’s a sacrifice and if people value education they should be willing to pay for it. People really need to weight cost/benefit more carefully and not go to a school that will end up costing them $100K in debt if that isn’t feasible.
I don’t think we don’t need another tax so that the millions of students who would go anyway and the millions more who would go because it was free, can go to college and get liberal arts degrees and other non-essential degrees just so we have an “educated” population. Like the issues with our health care system and its out-of-control cost structure, we also need to also examine the root causes of why college costs so much and keeps going up. If the things that make a college cost so much are superfluous than that sounds like an opportunity for entities to come in and start their own high-quality but “no-frills” colleges that can perhaps draw students away from the “name brand” institutions. The problem is we live in such a name brand society that this is probably overly idealistic.
I knew something seemed strange - scary part is you claimed to use a spreadsheet.
ReplyDelete20,000,000 x $100,000 = $2T not $20T
$20T / $0.02 = 100T
so you are still saying that there are 100T units of energy to be taxed at $0.02 - still huge numbers