Robert Reich gives you a peek at the commencement address that nobody will ever give:Members of the Class of 2012,As a former secretary of labor and current professor, I feel I owe it to you to tell you the truth about the pieces of parchment you're picking up today.
You're f*cked.
Well, not exactly. But you won't have it easy.
First, you're going to have a hell of a hard time finding a job. The job market you're heading into is still bad. Fewer than half of the graduates from last year's class have as yet found full-time jobs. Most are still looking.
Robert Reich
(UC-Berkeley) That's been the pattern over the last three graduating classes: It's been taking them more than a year to land the first job. And those who still haven't found a job will be competing with you, making your job search even harder. [...]But this can't go on. If unemployment stays high for many years, if the wages of young college grads continue to fall, if the costs of college continue to rise and state and local spending per college student continues to drop, and if the college debt burden therefore continues to explode -- well, you do the math.
At some point in the not-too-distant future these lines cross. College is no longer a good investment.
That's a problem for you and for those who will follow you into these hallowed halls, but it's also a problem for America as a whole.
You see, a college education isn't just a private investment. It's also a public good. This nation can't be competitive globally, nor can we have a vibrant and responsible democracy, without a large number of well-educated people.
So it's not just you who are burdened by these trends. If they continue, we're all f*cked.
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