Is going to college a waste of time? With pricy tuition costs and low job projections in some fields, plenty of people seem to consider it is.  Not everyone believes that a degree is necessary.  Students and their parents are often left under a mountain of debt from paying for college, even when a degree doesn't guarantee a job or career.  For other, college-level work may be too much.  Still others think that college is a scam.  Despite these arguments, David Leonhardt maintains that a degree is imperative by presenting the issue to an audience directed toward parents and young adults, backing up his ideas with statistical facts, and suggesting an alternative route to graduation.

"Even For Cashiers, College Pays Off," an article written for the New York Times, David Leonhardt presents the issue that going to college and obtaining a degree will get a graduate ahead of those without.  He makes the argument, "A new study even shows that a bachelor's degree pays off for jobs that don't require one: secretaries, plumbers, and cashiers.  And, beyond money, education seems to make people happier and healthier."  Leonhardt makes it a point to inform his audience that a college education not only benefits one financially, but also one's well-being.

Generally speaking, most people who read the New York Times are probably businessmen and women, teachers, and professors.  Most are parents.  The article's targeted audience is parents and students.  Deciding whether or not to go to college and how to pay for its are concerns that every family deals with.

The apparent stakeholder is David Leonhardt, the writer of the article.  Other stakeholders for this issue would be high school students interested in or preparing for college, current college students, parents of students, professors, faculty, and employers.  Students are the most important stakeholders because they are the ones that decide their future, whether they want a degree or not.  Parents matter in this situation because they pay for their child or children to go to school.  Professors. other faculty members, and employers are also stakeholders.  If no one is attending college, faculty and staff persons have no job.  If no one's going to college, there aren't top-notch candidates for the jobs employers need to make their business succeed.

Leonhardt states how important it is to dissect the anti-college argument, saying it obviously starts with money.  He shares statistical information that serve as reasons college costs aren't usually a problem for those who graduate.  The first being that many colleges aren't very expensive, once financial aid is taken into account.  The average net tuition and fees at public four-year colleges in the past year were about $2,000.  The second reason is because the returns from a degree have risen.  "Three decades ago, full-time workers with a bachelor's degree made 40 percent more than those with only a high-school diploma. Last year, the gap reached 83 percent. College graduates, though hardly immune from the downturn, are also far less likely to be unemployed than non-graduates" (Leonhardt).  Leonhardt addresses his skeptics, saying they like to point out that the income gap isn't rising as fast as it once was.  But he states that the gap remains bigger than ever.

In conclusion to his article, Leonhardt's answer is to improve colleges, not abandon them.  He suggests that action could be taken to convalesce colleges.  More financial aid could be given; tuition could be more affordable.  So much could be done to make going to college easier.  Through his presentation, backing up, and suggestion, David Leonhardt affirms obtaining a college degree is valuable.
