There are ideas that we’ve been sold:
Life is work, income, jobs…
Education leads to the pot of gold
And lots of money – gobs and gobs.
In fact, that last part is true –
Create student loans, a trillion dollars’ worth,
Textbooks, tuition and fees are due,
And to a new industry give birth.
And much like the housing bubble,
The industry must keep growing,
But Lord are we in trouble
If students don’t pay back what they’re owing.
To prevent a scenario that could be the worst,
Lobbyists and government have created laws
Designed to prohibit the bubble burst
While debt at students’ bones gnaws.
Still, students remain silent
While debt piles to the ceiling
Believing the money that is lent
Will not leave them kneeling.
While busy with jobs, family and school,
Students have no time to bother
With the Regents or government rule,
Especially the single mother and father.
And like some bad version of Groundhog Day
With Punxsutawney Phil,
Student futures on the altar lay
As they have to foot the bill
Of another tuition increase,
“The lowest in a decade
So students be at peace,”
Don’t consider you’re being played.
Utah tells businesses that the state is good.
Regulations against pollution are lax, of course,
And for paying employees cheaply, a business could
Get a well-educated, docile workforce.
Government, religion and educators, too
Trumpet the benefits of being educated.
However, those willing to help are few
And actually costs are grossly understated.
So, dear students, grab your ankles
And of a better future dream.
Here come the higher education ghouls
With interest in your silent scream.
For when you have received your degree
And are looking for some place to work,
Chances are you will be in the service industry
Feeling like a jerk.
Even if minimum wage is not your lot,
You will most likely find
That the stories you have bought
Were false – line upon line.
(Note: Salt Lake Community College at Tier II
Has proposed an increase of zero percent
So there is some good news
Even if it isn’t heaven sent.)
