Everyone Involved in American Education Is Broke

America is full of dumb people. We all need education, and lots of it. The problem is, getting involved in education in America in any capacity is a one-way ticket to poverty. Must we always remain dumb, forever?

Sadly, it appears so. Because while what is objectively called for is an intensive campaign to sit every last dumb American down and force-feed us education until we smarten up, it will never happen so long as both teaching and learning are such poor economic decisions. Consider: a new report says that American teachers are more or less treated like shit, and the number one thing that we could do to improve its education system would be to "Make a concerted effort to raise the status of the teaching profession."

Haha, that should be happening any moment now, what with the current popularity of the concept of improving salaries and working conditions for public employees! Meanwhile, on the student side of the equation: students are all broke, thanks to their student loans.

The study, based on data from five of the nation's largest student-loan agencies, found that only 37 percent of student borrowers who started repaying their loans in 2005 were able to fully pay them back on time.

And that percentage is probably decreasing, given the high unemployment rate of recent years

Maybe college professors, at least, are safe in their cushy ivory towers? No. They're already being forced to brainstorm new ways to live without having real jobs. Maybe everyone can become a blogger? No book-learnin' required!

[Photo: Karen Horton/ Flickr]