The economy is in all sorts of trouble; some experts believe it’s in a recession, some say a depression, and every now and then you’ll hear some clown say that it’s just fine.

With a degree in the liberal arts, you get a lot out of the Sunday funnies. This last Sunday, on the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s comics, Jeremy in “Zits” shows his parents a highly technical presentation he put together for a high school class. How much time did he spend doing it? “All together? About 20 minutes.” His parents’ response, and the punchline of the strip: “Stop the Internet. I want to get off,” his mom says with a dazed look. Responds his dad, “I fell off a while back.”

The retirement of the baby boomers will be accompanied by many problems, including an increased demand for social security and insecurity in the job market. One sector that will be especially affected is education.