CSU and the Degree Gap: Showdown at the Not So OK Corral

Abstract

We have heard it before. We are at a crossroad. Disaster impends. The promissory note is long overdue. Typically, the language concerns a social obligation, shirked. Let us add one more to the list, “We sowed; now we reap.” By 2026 in California, the number of people in prime wage-earning years will become smaller than the number of people older and younger. One would hope that earning power would compensate for smaller size. But look at an important part of this trend. In 2026, 40% of these prime wage earners will be Hispanic. Only 17% will have college degrees. The BA is the ticket to wealth in a post-industrial society.