Top 3 things that give your life meaning.

[Teacher Terry]

First of all it was not my husband’s choice to go to Vietnam. He was drafted. A good friend of mine spent a year in the hospital after being shot 4 times and being one of the few survivors of a battle in Vietnam. He died 4 years ago from a rare cancer caused by agent orange. My retiree insurance cost are based on a formula relating to years of service. I only had 15 years so pay the full cost. When working it was subsidized. Health has NOTHING to do with my cost. I believe in people taking care of themselves if necessary and a strong safety net for the less fortunate. People in my town now need a income of 80k to qualify for a loan to buy a house. Rents have skyrocketed and unaffordable for many.

[Gardnr]

Oh my how this has devolved into dirt throwing

How does my life have meaning?

I am an independent and interdependent woman-raised to take care of myself. Raised to set a goal AND hit it no matter the ups and downs! Raised to get through hard times and turn crap around. I am forever grateful to my parents for showing me that life can be good when there is not an extra penny to be had and I learned NO doesn't mean they don't love me.

I have a wonderful relationship with my husband and approaching 40 years married.

I am connected to my family that is sprinkled across 4 states. We all attend major family events and have a 1week reunion every 5 years for that face time!

I love growing our food and making wonderful meals from it as well as sharing the bounty in the 'hood and at my now prior workplace.

I am a creative soul. Giving handmade gifts and donating quilts to local charity to fill warm hug needs makes me happy.

I'm a RN and had a wonderful career of nearly 39 years in the OR. It gave me great happiness to make a positive difference in the lives of my many patients. And when they died in my care, to be gentle and respectful in their care until my role was finished. I worked with many amazing providers and peers. A wonderful career of which I am very proud.

[pinkytoe]

what a full time college professor makes

Tenured professors at the state university where I worked before retiring made no less than $160K per year - many were closer to $250K not to mention all the bennies. During the last five years of my employment, tuition/fees doubled. The old student co-ops and dorms were demolished and replaced with luxury dorms and apartments for the students. I would have nothing against some sort of national trade or infrastructure rebuild program to employ/educate all the lost, homeless youth out there.

[LDAHL]

Tenured professors at the state university where I worked before retiring made no less than $160K per year - many were closer to $250K not to mention all the bennies. During the last five years of my employment, tuition/fees doubled. The old student co-ops and dorms were demolished and replaced with luxury dorms and apartments for the students. I would have nothing against some sort of national trade or infrastructure rebuild program to employ/educate all the lost, homeless youth out there.

One of the things the nonprofit I work for does is to work with kids aging out of the foster care system to adapt to life on their own. So many of them have no resources at all to make the transition to self support. Something like you describe would be life-changing for them.

[catherine]

This is in the NYT today--people weighing in on their college experiences related to being able to afford it... or not.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...gtype=Homepage

[rosarugosa]

I have no issue with UL making use of the student loan forgiveness program. If I were inclined to be concerned about that sort of thing, I would be far more concerned with the many FI people (some quite affluent) who are using the ACA to subsidize their health insurance. But I'm not too concerned about them either. These programs are in place and of course people are going to use them. If something feels unethical to me, then I won't do it, but I think we each get to make this decision for ourselves when we are talking about using a program legally. I will save my ire for Amazon not paying any federal taxes or our public leaders who enjoy benefits and pensions beyond what most of us can imagine. UL seems to live very simply and frugally so that he can travel, so good for him! I suspect he travels rather frugally too. I wouldn't be surprised if our week in Niagara cost more than one if not both of his international trips; it just doesn't sound as exotic.
So back to the original topic. What gives my life meaning? I am not religious so I have 3 broad categories:
Finding happiness for myself
Extending kindness to others (who are likewise seeking personal happiness)
Demonstrating good stewardship of the planet, its resources and the other creatures sharing the planet

[Yppej]

Andrew Yang spoke about administrative costs of higher education in Plaistow NH. It is sad that adjuncts are so undercompensated and they are the ones actually educating students, not the administrators who are much better paid.

[Ultralight]

That is so common in rural areas where we have lived, and we usually have two and sometimes three jobs because we are cobbling together. There are no "good" jobs with benefits readily available for us, for a variety of reasons, including disability and age. I have heard that Maine, where my son lives, is like Vermont that way, Catherine. Upstate NY was like that when we lived in the country there.

So my sincere question is: Why not move somewhere that you can get a good job?

[Ultralight]

I wonder if it isn’t time to reconsider whether our educational service delivery systems are serving us as well as they could. Is the four year degree still a reasonable outcome, or is it just a sort of obsolete vocational credential or status marker or means of extending childhood?

Are there better ways to build, measure and document educational attainment? Are effective scholars necessarily the most effective teachers? Are elite schools necessarily the best schools, or are are they simply a sort of barrier to entry?

Should we subsidize gender studies but not plumbing studies? Are some areas of study more in the public interest than others? Can’t professional qualifications be established through exams and certifications? Can we accept education obtained over the internet as well as that obtained in lecture halls?

I think a journeyman's card is as good as a college degree. Some people frown on trades, I don't. That is valuable work. I used to work for a trade union.

[Ultralight]

First of all it was not my husband’s choice to go to Vietnam. He was drafted.

He had a choice and you know it. He could have:
-Told the guys at the induction center he was gay
-Went to Canada
-Been a conscientious objector
-Enlisted in a branch and got a MOS that kept him away from Vietnam and in the rear with the gear

Saying he did not have a choice is a BS answer.

A good friend of mine spent a year in the hospital after being shot 4 times and being one of the few survivors of a battle in Vietnam.

That would not have happened to him in Montreal.

He died 4 years ago from a rare cancer caused by agent orange.

My dad had Agent Orange poisoning too. He was a medic.

My retiree insurance cost are based on a formula relating to years of service. I only had 15 years so pay the full cost. When working it was subsidized. Health has NOTHING to do with my cost.

What?

I believe in people taking care of themselves if necessary and a strong safety net for the less fortunate.

Yeah, me too. So?

People in my town now need a income of 80k to qualify for a loan to buy a house. Rents have skyrocketed and unaffordable for many.

Then find a new town. Why do people think they are entitled to live in the part of the country they want AND to get a great job there?