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Michelle Obama prepares university grads for job disappointment

21st Century Wire says…

First the Oscars, now for the economy. The first lady Michelle Obama spoke to Eastern Kentucky University graduates over the weekend, but it could easily have been a speech to a room full of graduates somewhere east of the Volga…


IT’S TOUGH OUT THERE: Can’t wait to go to the Bahamas again next week.

Even the President’s wife cannot put the necessary lipstick on the pig that is the US economy in 2013. She gave some very depressing advice to the crowd of students, essentially telling an auditorium full of economic victims that they better get used to sparse opportunities as she asked them:

“How are you going to respond when you don’t get that job you had your heart set on?”

Touching, and so candid, you’d almost think she was working class. Not very inspiring though. On top of that, she went on to lecture graduates on the virtues of mixing and mingling with other of differing political persuasions:

“Because we know what happens when we only talk to people who think like we do. We just get stuck in our ways.”

A more politically correct way to spin this in today’s world of public relations illusion would be to tell the students, “You have to get used to life’s ups and downs”. Let’s start with the downs: the average college grad in America will leave higher education today with an average of $40,000 in debt – thanks in part to the Obama’s White House’s ‘Fanny and Freddie’ strategy of making loans readily available which has in turn jacked up tuition fees on an average of 30% in the last 6 years (it should also be pointed out that the government is turning a tidy profit on their student loans business by borrowing their money at near zero % interest and than adding a margin on top for students to pay, between 3% and 6%, until past their 40th birthday). A ball and chain is attached to each American student before they even land their first job. Ask those students if it was worth it when they’re 40.

The next hurdle they will face is a job market with only one position open for every five degree holders, which means 80% of grads will be waiting tables, working two to three part-time jobs, or be forced to work for the TSA.

Obama_Coin_ExactChange_160Now for the upside… sadly, there is no upside for American graduates in 2013. And it looks like it’s going to get much getting worse. The lucky ones might get a job with Homeland Security doing data mining on other Americans. The rest will land unpaid internships – we’re told this is a real growth area at the moment.

Hope and change for sure – spare change, anyone?

 

Mrs. Obama: Seek out those with different beliefs


BRUCE SCHREINER

My Way

RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) – First lady Michelle Obama urged Eastern Kentucky University graduates on Saturday night to reach out to people with different political beliefs, saying the country would benefit from the conversations.

“If you’re a Democrat, spend some time talking to a Republican,” Mrs. Obama told about 600 education, business and technology graduates at the third and final commencement ceremony of the day. “And if you’re a Republican, have a chat with a Democrat. Maybe you’ll find some common ground, maybe you won’t.”

The first lady suggested that they visit senior centers to benefit from the experiences of people with plenty of “life experience under their belts.” She also pointed them to religious congregations different than their own, saying they might hear something in a sermon “that stays with you.” And she predicted they would learn something if they reached out “with an open mind and an open heart.”

“And goodness knows, we need more of that,” she said. “Because we know what happens when we only talk to people who think like we do. We just get stuck in our ways.”

The first lady received thunderous applause from several thousand people attending the ceremony in a state that voted overwhelmingly against her husband, President Barack Obama, in his two successful runs for the White House.

She exhorted the graduates to apply the same resilience and work ethic they showed in school to their lives beyond campus to cope with life’s ups-and-downs.

“How are you going to respond when you don’t get that job you had your heart set on?” she said.

To the soon-to-be teachers in the crowd, she urged fortitude when their students don’t respond to their lessons – and urged the same fortitude for the business students when their bosses pile work on them.

Those are the times that will “force you to claw and scratch and fight” to endure, she said.

The White House said the first lady was drawn to EKU as part of her initiative to support veterans and military families. EKU has gained national recognition for its efforts to help veterans advance their education, including its Veterans Success Center, which provides one-stop-assistance for advising, counseling and job placement services.

A campus group took potshots at Obama administration policies ahead of Mrs. Obama’s visit, handing out fliers bemoaning the challenging job prospects for the new graduates.

“Good luck landing your first job,” said the flier from the EKU chapter of Young Americans for Liberty. “Only 47 percent of you will be able to find a job in your preferred field, so I hope you’re still on good terms with your parents.”

READ MORE STUDENT LOAN NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Student Loan Files

 

 

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