You are being dismissive of the entire class of skilled trade jobs.

Actually, if you read all my missives, I did NOT dismiss them. I just said there aren't enough jobs in those areas to employ everyone that will need employment (and, as a side note, skilled trades usually have to go to school also...just not a college). A good crane operator makes more than I ever did as an engineer, but how many crane operators do we need?

I also favor free job/vocational training for those not inclined to go to college. We do need skilled trades.** Though care needs to be exercised there, too. In Appalachia, apparently they tried to train coal miners to be plumbers...so they have a lot of plumbers, but no plumbing jobs. Which is a problem (I saw a news story on that a few years ago).

**And unions, especially if the state isn't going to fund vocational training. The best plumber I have found was union-trained, and he is really good. The company he works for is not a union shop (AZ), but he was union-trained in NYC, and is the principle trainer for his company.