The Kids Today

A bunch of people (some of The Kids Today!), commented in various ways on this post. I don't think expensive college is the only way that The Kids Today are getting the short shrift, I just think it's the clearest example of what the government did for people once upon a time, and what the government does not do for people now. There are all kinds of other issues, such as The Rent Is Too Damn High, which are certainly real but more complicated. But there's a very simple story about in-state public university tuition. Once upon a time, it was almost free. Now it's expensive. Because of that, even The Kids Today who do what they're told and go get engineering degrees from public universities (not really sure where all these engineering jobs are, but that's the story), still start life with a mortgage and no home unless their parents can pay the bill.