[esk]

Considering the tone of these letters (especially the last one—wow!), it's a bit difficult to summon empathy with their authors.

And I think that's unfortunate, because they have an exceedingly valid point—American universities are making a killing churning out graduates with very few relevant skills for today's economy.

That's not to say these students are completely innocent—many, many American students view college as their "last gasp" of living without any real responsibilities, and they make make the most of that opportunity (rather than making the most of the opportunity to better themselves and prepare for today's economy).

Now and forever, using only the internet, it's possible to learn... well, nearly everything. Once employers accept this, the cost of a degree will plummet, and universities will be forced to offer something well beyond what Wikipedia, web forums, and online instructional videos can provide. That's the only way they'll stay relevant and worth the investment. I think the universities can do it, but they are going to fight tooth and nail to avoid having to change.

All large institutions do.

[patio11]

This assumes that employers see value in colleges in terms of teaching and not, say, as outsourced pedigree verifiers which are socially permitted to discriminate along axes that employers are not permitted to.

A degree from Harvard in Commercially Valueless Trivia with a minor in Not Comprehensible Outside Your Specialty and a thesis in Not Even Good Cocktail Conversation still tells employers that you were good enough to get into Harvard. (Or, more insidiously, that you're the kind of people who get into Harvard.)

[esk]

You're right—employers are being lazy.

It's safe for people in HR to mindlessly prefer mediocre Candidate A with a degree over stellar Candidate B without one, so instead of actually examining the values the candidates can bring to the company, they take the easy, defensible path.

Part of the process of employers' recognizing that someone learning online can easily learn more than someone going to a university will be to empower HR departments to honestly examine candidates' value to the company rather than looking at increasingly irrelevant badges on their resume.

In short, employers lazily prefer people with degrees. People want employment. People seek degrees. Universities see tons of demand and little pressure to improve, so they don't. Most graduates skills are irrelevant for today's employers, so they don't get hired. Employers can break this cycle by empowering their HR departments.

[epistasis]

Regarding the last letter, I think we've only seen the tip of the iceberg with regards to generational hatred for the Baby Boomers. Inheriting such a structurally messed up government and economy will not leave a good taste in people's mouth, and as times get desperate, having to pay large Social Security and Medicare entitlements to a generation that stopped investing in the future will become more and more questionable.

[tallanvor]

I hate how people have latched onto using the term "entitlements" to discuss Social Security and Medicare and always say/write it as if it's a bad thing.

Social Security and Medicare are earned benefits. People pay into the system through payroll taxes so that they receive a benefit based on the length of time they paid into the system and their salary. Much like a 401k or an IRA, the money is invested (albeit in government debt at low interest rates), and even now (well, maybe not with that idiotic payroll tax break they enacted) more money is going in than coming out.

[ddw]

Although I haven't read it, Albert Brooks' new novel seems to be about this very thing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2030_%28novel%29

Cancer has been cured and the younger generations increasingly feel resentment towards the "olds" that they have to support. He really isn't that far off considering how large the Baby Boomer generation is that are retiring everyday.

Since the beginning of the United States, every next generation has lived more comfortably than the last, until now. And the young people are realizing this.