American Dream Packet Response

The article A Generation Hobbled by the Soaring Cost of College, by Martin and Lehran, paints a fairly bleak and depressing picture of the reality of today's student loan debt. Throughout the article they use some pretty large numbers ranging from $50,000 to even $120,000. What really drives these numbers home is when one reads about the people themselves and the lengths that they are going to pay off their debt, Christina Hagan for example. Ms. Hagan has a seat on the Ohio House of Representatives at the age of 23, but to make ends meet she also has to wait tables at a Mexican restaurant just to pay off her $60,000 student loan debt. Personally I believe that Student loan debt is one of the largest problems when it comes to achieving the American Dream in today's society. The main problem in my opinion is this idea that has been instilled in everyone that you have to go to college for an education. The smart thing to do to better yourself is to go to a trade school instead of a for profit university, this allows you to get an education in a trade, such as being an electrician or a mechanic. Yes, I know that this is not as glamorous as a degree from a university, but these are jobs that are becoming high in demand because of the shift away from these jobs in America meaning that there is big money for those who can put up with not having a degree in Psychology or Mathematics.  The fact of the matter is that student loan debt does not mean the end of the American Dream, however, those who want to go to college have to understand the challenges that face them after graduation.

The article Millennials Didn't Abandon Our Institutions-Our Institutions Failed Them, by Holland, really said what I think a fair amount of people in the Millennial Generation are thinking, that traditional institutions have failed us. The reason for this mistrust of major institutions would have to be because of the current political and economical climate that many millennials have grown up in. Government is probably the best example of this mistrust, how can we trust the government when they have racked up $17 trillion in national debt, fought a war for the last 11 years and when there are over 10.5 million people unemployed and looking for work. It is not just the government that many do not trust, big companies are also on the list. One good example of reasons for not trusting big businesses, and government, would have to be the current General Motors recall that has been going on recently. Basically GM built a car that can turn itself and the airbags off while driving at speed, which has been the cause of 13 deaths, and the company has known about the issue since before the car was put into production. Whats even worse is that the NHTSA(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) knew about the issue in 2007, but never looked into it. So here is the US Government and General Motors with the blood of 13 people on their hands, and people wonder why Millennials don't trust the major institutions.

(For a brief overview of the GM ignition switch read this: http://www.npr.org/2014/03/31/297312252/the-long-road-to-gms-ignition-switch-recall)