More Bad News About Indiana's Higher Education

 This morning, during our first break, I came on the end of a conversation between two guys I have cataloged as Trumpers. What little I heard denigrated the Democrats. I do not see what the Republicans have done for the working class in this country that they find Trump so seductive - other than he promotes a time when all they had to do to get a good job was be white. I do not see what the Republicans have done any good for Indiana, for all their pro-business propaganda.

What to know about Indiana’s latest college completion rate gains reinforces my opinions:

The college-going dip puts billions of dollars on the line. Each class of Indiana public college graduates contributes $13 billion or more in spending and tax revenue to the state’s economy, according to the report.

“Yes, there has been improvement in these numbers over time, but the state’s overall education attainment is exacerbated by other challenges such as the declining college-going rate, a staggering number of adults without a credential beyond a high school diploma and too many college graduates leaving the state,” ICHE officials wrote in the report. “Indiana must continue to drive progress by getting more students to graduate in the most cost-effective manner.”

State officials have maintained that people with a bachelor’s degree or higher earn 85% more per year than high school graduates. The longer college takes, however, the more it can cost, and the less likely it is a student will ever graduate, ICHE officials said.

“Indiana’s economy depends on and thrives with an educated society. Yet Indiana’s educational attainment is not close enough to where it needs to be. Employers are already struggling to find skilled talent. That search will only become more difficult if we do not increase the number of Hoosiers with the skills and training they need,” the report said. “We must further develop the connection between our labor force and education beyond high school, ensuring employers have access to talented Hoosiers to fill the jobs of today and tomorrow.

But a college requires work, means competing, leaves behind the lazy and those who rely on the crutch of whiteness to make a living.

Having a college-educated population means a population far less likely to buy into Republican propaganda.

Therefore, Indiana's Republican leaders cannot promote college education and expect their political power to survive; the white working class wants prosperity without competition. So, Indiana becomes the equivalent of a Third World country.

sch 10/19/22