Hello Charles: I knew you were smart from first I met you. That
is why I hired you. Your historical political analysis is correct. No government leads to anarchy and no nation can exist in anarchy. I hope you do more columns on this subject. Leah Gordon
Leah! So nice to hear from you. I'll always be grateful to you because I have no idea where I'd be if you hadn't hired me. If you liked this column, then I guess it's ok. Please hit the subscribe button at https://calexan.substack.com/p/simple-slogans-for-simple-minds so that you'll get future columns and I'll get your email so I can reestablish contact with you. Subscriptions are free. It would be terrific to see you after the pandemic ends. Allbest, Charles
Charles: Hope you will stay in touch after the pandemic ends. Would be pleased to see you and hear about your what you have been doing since last we were in touch. Leah
I didn't have a chance (yet) to read your first "installment" but I read this one thoroughly. I have tried to make a few of these points myself but couldn't get the information across. I'll just use your words to clarify what I've been trying to say. Again, so well put!
Thank you, Robin! So sorry that this pandemic has prevented Cathy and me from seeing you and Ed in ages. We had a masked, socially distant encounter in front 483 9th Street with Kevin, Brian, Kailin and Henry on Henry's birthday. Oliver was asleep inside. We haven't seen him crawling yet, but he sure is photogenic. Love the guitar picture!
Hi Charlie. Great post! Speaking of Reagan, do you think you could break down how college suddenly became so expensive? I don't think most people really understand it. Thanks! Drury
Thanks for the nice comment, Drury, and thanks for subscribing. Great to hear from you. As for your college question, that would take some research, and I can no longer send a bunch of queries to you at the newsdesk! Off the top of my head, I would say that the number of bureaucrats in college administrations has exploded and faculty salaries have gone way up, as professors demand a standard of living commensurate with their "elite" status in society. And if it's a big sports school, the coaches make millions. The inflation has been just as bad at prep schools, which I saw first-hand as a Trustee of the private boarding school I attended in Tennessee. When I went to the school starting in 1964, the administration (not counting faculty) consisted of a Headmaster, an Assistant Headmaster, a Business Manager, a couple of secretaries and the maintenance people. That was it, seriously. Today, there's a Head of School, Assistant Head, Director of Academic Studies, Dean of Students, Dean of Residential Life, Athletics Director, Admissions Director, Director of Development, Director of Annual Giving, Director of College Counseling and Communications Director. Each of these people has at least one administrative assistant, and most of these department heads have sizable staffs. Then there's the faculty, medical staff, cooks and maintenance people to pay. The Head of School makes a small fortune—probably enough to cover the entire school budget back in my day! The current tuition, room and board is probably more than at most public colleges.
Same with my private school. They closed their boarding department but I came across a tuition brochure from the 70s in their archives and it was somewhere around $2,000. I know where my brothers went it's now around $40,000!! I'm imagining your school was as austere as ours back in the day...no fancy dorms or dining halls, etc. Anyway, I was listening to a podcast earlier that suggested that the college tuition spike started with Reagan in California because of the radical students who were attending the excellent, basically tuition-free schools there. It was suggested that he felt they wouldn't have as much time on their hands if they graduated and had to take what jobs they could find to pay off the debt instead. In any case, I'm glad you make the point about Reagan in your piece. Cheers!
Hello Charles: I knew you were smart from first I met you. That
is why I hired you. Your historical political analysis is correct. No government leads to anarchy and no nation can exist in anarchy. I hope you do more columns on this subject. Leah Gordon
Leah! So nice to hear from you. I'll always be grateful to you because I have no idea where I'd be if you hadn't hired me. If you liked this column, then I guess it's ok. Please hit the subscribe button at https://calexan.substack.com/p/simple-slogans-for-simple-minds so that you'll get future columns and I'll get your email so I can reestablish contact with you. Subscriptions are free. It would be terrific to see you after the pandemic ends. Allbest, Charles
Charles: Hope you will stay in touch after the pandemic ends. Would be pleased to see you and hear about your what you have been doing since last we were in touch. Leah
I didn't have a chance (yet) to read your first "installment" but I read this one thoroughly. I have tried to make a few of these points myself but couldn't get the information across. I'll just use your words to clarify what I've been trying to say. Again, so well put!
Thank you, Robin! So sorry that this pandemic has prevented Cathy and me from seeing you and Ed in ages. We had a masked, socially distant encounter in front 483 9th Street with Kevin, Brian, Kailin and Henry on Henry's birthday. Oliver was asleep inside. We haven't seen him crawling yet, but he sure is photogenic. Love the guitar picture!
Hi Charlie. Great post! Speaking of Reagan, do you think you could break down how college suddenly became so expensive? I don't think most people really understand it. Thanks! Drury
Thanks for the nice comment, Drury, and thanks for subscribing. Great to hear from you. As for your college question, that would take some research, and I can no longer send a bunch of queries to you at the newsdesk! Off the top of my head, I would say that the number of bureaucrats in college administrations has exploded and faculty salaries have gone way up, as professors demand a standard of living commensurate with their "elite" status in society. And if it's a big sports school, the coaches make millions. The inflation has been just as bad at prep schools, which I saw first-hand as a Trustee of the private boarding school I attended in Tennessee. When I went to the school starting in 1964, the administration (not counting faculty) consisted of a Headmaster, an Assistant Headmaster, a Business Manager, a couple of secretaries and the maintenance people. That was it, seriously. Today, there's a Head of School, Assistant Head, Director of Academic Studies, Dean of Students, Dean of Residential Life, Athletics Director, Admissions Director, Director of Development, Director of Annual Giving, Director of College Counseling and Communications Director. Each of these people has at least one administrative assistant, and most of these department heads have sizable staffs. Then there's the faculty, medical staff, cooks and maintenance people to pay. The Head of School makes a small fortune—probably enough to cover the entire school budget back in my day! The current tuition, room and board is probably more than at most public colleges.
Same with my private school. They closed their boarding department but I came across a tuition brochure from the 70s in their archives and it was somewhere around $2,000. I know where my brothers went it's now around $40,000!! I'm imagining your school was as austere as ours back in the day...no fancy dorms or dining halls, etc. Anyway, I was listening to a podcast earlier that suggested that the college tuition spike started with Reagan in California because of the radical students who were attending the excellent, basically tuition-free schools there. It was suggested that he felt they wouldn't have as much time on their hands if they graduated and had to take what jobs they could find to pay off the debt instead. In any case, I'm glad you make the point about Reagan in your piece. Cheers!