In this L.A. Times piece, Mike Rustigan, professor emeritus of criminal justice at San Jose State, says that many young Americans would be better off learning some trade than going to college. He even uses my favorite description for college: oversold.

Professor Rustigan says that Obama “should be pitching vocational education just as vigorously as he extols a college degree.” But the two things compete. What Obama should do is to stop extolling college and say that there is a great amount of productive work available to people who don’t want to pursue a BA. Better yet, he might let the nation in on the fact that large numbers of people who’ve gotten college degrees are working in jobs that demand no intellectual preparation and struggling to pay off loans for lots of pointless courses.

Alas, Obama has said that he wants more college credentials on our walls — that we should have a goal of leading the world in that regard. How often does Obama admit he was wrong about something? I’m aware of no instances of that.