Medicaid problems in Indiana

[snarlcakes]

Too old @mcmurtry66?

 

[All4You]

He does not that K-12 spending is also down, as a percentage.

We could up funding for STEM as the Lilly CEO wants

Eli Lilly CEO: Indiana needs to do more to address health, education of Hoosiers - 95.3 MNC

The CEO of Eli Lilly and Co., one of Indiana’s largest employers, said that the state needs to do more to address the health and education level of Hoosiers. “Our education attainment in the state is not good. The ability to reskill the workforce, I think, could improve. Health, life...

www.953mnc.com

It will be tough to get as many line workers as we used to have and overall paid what Ford and GM pay. While they pay a lot, go to YouTube and watch videos of car assembly. There aren't many humans involved.

I don't know how Indiana does better at getting higher paying jobs. But we need to.

How about we fund for the trades as well? I'm all for STEM programs too, but no matter how technologically advanced we become we are still going to need mechanics, plumbers, electricians and the like. Get the CSDs to partner with the trade unions to start apprenticeship programs at the High School level. Have career centers at these High Schools that teach these skills and get these kinds on a path to a well paying career that will always be in demand.

 

[BradStevens]

I’m as big a proponent of skilled trades as you’ll find. And there is a growing need for kids to get into the trades - because most of them are still very top heavy in terms of median age.

But there are only so many of them to go around. And we’re taking in about 1 for every 8 or 9 applicants around here.

Huh, I didn't know that. Everything I read says we have a shortage of people in these trades. What's going on? Standards too high? Artificial choking off of the labor supply to keep wages up?

 

[BradStevens]

You guys are all really going to let snarl get away with this?

We don't judge, Goat.

 

[crazed_hoosier2]

Huh, I didn't know that. Everything I read says we have a shortage of people in these trades. What's going on? Standards too high? Artificial choking off of the labor supply to keep wages up?

We do have a shortage. But there are only so many spots available each year to begin apprenticeships.

Management begged the unions years ago to increase apprenticeship capacity to prepare for the wave of retirements that began in the late 2010s. But they refused to do it (they view apprentices as a kind of competition). So we’re playing catch-up now.

And Covid just poured fuel on the fire - caused a large high retirement rate to become an unprecedented retirement rate.

 

[IUCrazy2]

Hicks has a fetish about college degrees -- as if the student debt crisis doesn't exist or has some kind of alternative explanation.

College has never been the right choice for everybody. And that's never been truer than it is today -- as the cost to obtain a degree has diverged from the monetary value of possessing one. If college was truly worth what it costs for anybody and everybody, we wouldn't have a student debt crisis -- because the acquired education would have resulted in enough income for borrowers to afford their payments.

College is a great investment for people who are getting worthwhile degrees that actually do open the doors to enough income to justify the cost. But it's a terrible burden for most of those who get the other kind.

So colleges and universities need to rethink their business models. They should start by doing honest estimates of the NPV of each degree they offer. And the tuitions for these programs should reflect that number. All degrees are not worth the same amount of money to possess. So why do they all cost the same amount of money to obtain?

This would mean that universities would be losing money on low-value degree programs. And they'd face the choice to subsidize them or cut them loose. Rightsizing is often unpleasant, but it's extremely healthy. But it's important to realize that these losses already exist. They just show up in the form of distressed student debt.

Corporate America could help out by not requiring degrees for jobs that didn't require them when the baby boomers filled them too. Not everyone wants to work with their hands (or has the ability) and corporations made a degree a barrier to entry to all white collar jobs.

Then we blame 18 to 22 year olds for doing what everyone was telling them to do.

 

[All4You]

We do have a shortage. But there are only so many spots available each year to begin apprenticeships.

Management begged the unions years ago to increase apprenticeship capacity to prepare for the wave of retirements that began in the late 2010s. But they refused to do it (they view apprentices as a kind of competition). So we’re playing catch-up now.

And Covid just poured fuel on the fire - caused a large high retirement rate to become an unprecedented retirement rate.

I too used unions in my example, but I would be remiss to not mention the existance of a high demand in non-union skilled trades as well where apprenticeships aren't subject to nepotism or such stiff competition. There are dozens of these types of positions across several industries.

 

[All4You]

Corporate America could help out by not requiring degrees for jobs that didn't require them when the baby boomers filled them too. Not everyone wants to work with their hands (or has the ability) and corporations made a degree a barrier to entry to all white collar jobs.

Then we blame 18 to 22 year olds for doing what everyone was telling them to do.

I am an early Gen-Xer, the last generation that remembers what it was like to walk into a place and fill out an application, interview and be hired on the spot in the same day in person. I didn't have a degree, and was able to forge a nice career in finance and banking. I can't even fathom trying to do that in this day and age, and with all the wonky HR bullshit I would have to endure, I am happy to be done working for others.

 

[BradStevens]

Hicks has a fetish about college degrees -- as if the student debt crisis doesn't exist or has some kind of alternative explanation.

College has never been the right choice for everybody. And that's never been truer than it is today -- as the cost to obtain a degree has diverged from the monetary value of possessing one. If college was truly worth what it costs for anybody and everybody, we wouldn't have a student debt crisis -- because the acquired education would have resulted in enough income for borrowers to afford their payments.

College is a great investment for people who are getting worthwhile degrees that actually do open the doors to enough income to justify the cost. But it's a terrible burden for most of those who get the other kind.

So colleges and universities need to rethink their business models. They should start by doing honest estimates of the NPV of each degree they offer. And the tuitions for these programs should reflect that number. All degrees are not worth the same amount of money to possess. So why do they all cost the same amount of money to obtain?

This would mean that universities would be losing money on low-value degree programs. And they'd face the choice to subsidize them or cut them loose. Rightsizing is often unpleasant, but it's extremely healthy. But it's important to realize that these losses already exist. They just show up in the form of distressed student debt.

And/or you could decrease the price based on the expense associated with providing the learning environment at issue. Hard sciences that require labs, equipment, etc. should cost more than an English degree or philosophy degree where all you need is a text, a teacher, and a room. Same, of course, goes for the market demand for the professors.

 

[crazed_hoosier2]

And/or you could decrease the price based on the expense associated with providing the learning environment at issue. Hard sciences that require labs, equipment, etc. should cost more than an English degree or philosophy degree where all you need is a text, a teacher, and a room. Same, of course, goes for the market demand for the professors.

Maybe. But, ultimately, the price for anything should be tethered to its value. In some respects, it already is. There’s a reason that Harvard and Stanford cost more than Valpo or Hanover.

But is there a good reason why Purdue wouldn’t charge more for a chemical engineering degree than it charges for an art history degree…other than that’s how it’s always been?

If they ran the career earnings numbers on 1000 random graduates from each program, they ought to be able to establish a reasonable guess as to what each one is worth.