To the editor:

A four-year degree is not quite enough. Having two or three sources of income is not a bad idea. Why?  There are six reasons to keep in mind: 1) mergers, 2) hostile takeovers, 3) leveraged buyouts, 4) free-trade agreements, 5) Reagan/Bush savings and loan home loan scandal killed the economy and cost the U.S. millions of jobs, 6) Bush/Cheney home loan scandal killed the economy and cost the U.S. millions of jobs

All of the above ultimately translates into millions of U.S. job losses. Big-time layoffs are the end result. These jobs go abroad with tax codes that prevent taxation on profits made abroad from U.S. big-name corporations. There was a time when becoming employed by corporate America came with long-term employment, fine wages and dependable retirement benefits. Those days are gone.

After a four-year degree, one might consider a vocational-technical institute to become a highly skilled technician in some field. This will make any college grad more marketable and perhaps open doors to self-employment. Or, if one has the dollars, becoming a career student is as respectable as any other job.