From: "Caliban" 
Newsgroups: alt.invest.penny-stocks alt.invest.real-estate alt.make.money alt.make.money.fast misc.invest.mutual-funds misc.invest.options misc.invest.stocks uk.finance
Subject: Re: Investment Choices
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2003 09:57:05 GMT

"darkness"  wrote
> "Caliban"  wrote
> > "TK Sung"  wrote
> > > "System Prompt"  wrote
> > > > 5)  Higher education, best return on investment IMHO
> > > >
> > > lemmie see...  you pay $150k for four year private college or $50k for
> >  state
> > > college, and then come home to live off your parents.  education is
> > > over-rated and over-priced for most peple imo, unless they discover
and
> > > pursue their life-long passion.
> >
> > Helluva statement, but I tend to agree and am glad people are noticing.
> >
> > U.S. colleges have become for profit factories, enriching tenure track
or
> > tenured faculty and administrators alike.
>
> More like 'winner take all'.  An English professor at a small state
> school or private college is falling further and further behind his
> colleague who is a star B-School prof at a leading institution.

I think this is a digression (and a large one at that) from my point, not a
clarification or elaboration of it.

>  What does one get at the high
> > priced institutions, private and public alike, compared to the bargain
> > schools or skipping college altogether? I think mostly pride and "social
> > status." (I will note that the demographic statistics indicate college
> > graduates do make more than high school graduates. If you're a man. ;-)
.)
>
> No I think the data is valid for women also.

I correct my statement to say that a female college graduate makes about the
same amount of money as a male high school graduate. The National Center for
Education Statistics (a government agency) typically is quoted for this. See
for example Figure 26 at   http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/digest2001/ch5.asp

snip
> > God knows social status is important to Americans. It's why our
> > anti-depressant industry is booming.
>
> Oh indeed.  And why, despite rising incomes and wealth, surveys across
> the western world show no gain in happiness.

I haven't seen these but because of general anecdotal reading am certainly
inclined to believe such surveys (and the results from them that you attest)
exist.