There’s a lie that’s been floating around for decades, spoon-fed to young Americans by the elites, the media, and, of course, the Democrats: you must go to college to be “successful.” This myth has been pushed by a system that profits off the backs of kids lured into lifelong debt for degrees that, half the time, don’t even lead to decent-paying jobs. Meanwhile, there’s a whole other path that’s just as rewarding, if not more so—the trades.

Look around. You don’t need a Ph.D. to see who keeps America running. It’s the plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and mechanics. They’re the backbone of this country, and they’re doing important, honest work without the baggage of a fancy degree or the suffocating debt that comes with it. In fact, a skilled tradesperson can earn just as much as someone with a four-year degree, sometimes even more. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, many trade jobs pay an average annual salary of around $50,000 to $70,000, with experienced tradespeople or those in specialized fields earning six figures.

One major difference? While college grads are slogging through unpaid internships and hunting for entry-level jobs, skilled tradespeople are out in the workforce, gaining experience, earning money, and building careers from day one. You think about that—while an English major is buried under student loan debt, the electrician who went straight to trade school has been making bank and saving for the future. But you won’t hear the Democrats talking about this because they’re busy feeding the college industry that keeps churning out indebted graduates reliant on government aid.

The value of trade jobs isn’t just in the money, though. There’s dignity in this work, real, tangible satisfaction from creating something, fixing something, making something work. These are skills that actually matter, and they’ll always be in demand. Try outsourcing plumbing to a foreign call center—good luck with that. The truth is, while everyone else is panicking over economic downturns, skilled tradespeople remain essential. Their jobs can’t be outsourced, they can’t be done by an app, and they certainly aren’t going anywhere.

In the end, it comes down to this: college isn’t for everyone, nor should it be. America needs welders, not just web designers. It needs mechanics, not just marketing majors. The trades are as valuable as any college degree, maybe even more so. And here’s the kicker—Trump’s policies have always supported the working class, whether it’s tax cuts, trade deals, or cutting red tape to keep these industries alive. That’s the America-first approach.

So, here’s the message: we don’t all need to go to college, and we certainly don’t all need to go into debt for some useless degree. The trades are real work, real skills, and real careers. It’s high time we put some respect on these essential jobs, just like Trump’s been saying all along. This country was built by hard work, not by ivy-league elites.