Opporunity

This morning, getting ready for work, I heard NPR’s Markplace Update, where they discussed young folks expectations and beliefs after the recession. They said a common refrain – that young people are more liberal and believe that luck rather then hard work is the results of their accomplishments. I have younger people say that I’ve gotten where I’ve gotten by luck and not hard-work.

They may have a valid point. But mostly my luck was being born a few years before they were born.

I graduated from High School in 2001, and while the economy wasn’t perfect, the reality is by the time I graduated from college in 2007, we were at the height of the post-September 11^th boom. Getting my current job wasn’t easy, and indeed I applied many places, and worked temporary work and did a lot of volunteer work to get where I was. But it was nothing like those who graduated in 2008 through 2011, when the US economy was in the crapper.

I also had the benefit of going to college while state university rates were relatively affordable. Price escalation was well underway by the time I graduated in 2007, but prior to that was quite affordable. The cost of college really started going through the roof as the recession deepened and SUNY implemented what it called “rational” tuition hikes, as apparently its rational to continue a high-level of spending on education on the backs of students from working poor families.

When I started at Community College, coming from a working class family, college was free, and even included a small stipend to buy books and pay for commuting to classes. There was good Pell grants from the federal government, and a pretty generous state Tuition Assistance Programs. Both would be cut a few years later, by the federal government and state government. Counties also cut their assistance to community colleges, and they hiked fees to pay for their ambitious building programs and to keep up the quality of their fringe benefits and salaries of employees.

As mostly a commuter student, state college prices were pretty low after aid. But it changed. In 2003, the state raided the finances of SUNY to pay for it’s ever growing budget, To make up for some of the state raid, they hiked and hiked again the cost of tuition, and let fees grow without cap or control. But it still was fairly affordable, living at home, and commuting. I only lived away from home for two semesters in college, and after the tuition hikes and cuts, it was like $5,000 a semester, but by spreading those semesters apart, I was able to pay for cash.

Today, in part because I graduated during a strong economy, I was able to get a very good job. I’ve worked my way up in the company, and are doing fairly well for myself. I had to work for the job, at first an unpaid volunteer, and then by persistent asking for favors from people and making phone calls and interviews. While I’m sure luck and timing played a role, I think it’s a mistake to say not most of it was my hard work.

I think I worked hard for my accomplishments – my college degree, my good job, my 4×4 pickup truck, and my outdoors gear. It wasn’t given to me by some luck on a roulette wheel. Rather, I took a conservative approach to my finances, and saved money. I worked hard, and the results paid off. But I also received many benefits from government programs like college aid, that made school much more affordable.

I believe if people work hard, they can get ahead. Not all will, and luck and timing have a bit to do with it — but it’s not all. The government can lend a helping hand, but it shouldn’t replace individual ambition to succeed at life.