​We've always said the wave of the future -- or such future as we have -- is not in white-collar jobs, but in trades and handicrafts. Here is another harbinger: the Times reveals that CUNY's six community or two-year colleges -- the sort of places where you'd go to school if you were too broke and/or too unsure of your commitment to go to an expensive four-year college -- are for the first time rejecting masses of applicants. "Thousands of students" looking to enter Borough of Manhattan Community College and other local two-years were "shut out this fall," the Times reveals.

Too many people want in, prompted by lack of employment or other factors, and CUNY can't take all its qualified applicants, particularly in the face of Governor Paterson's massive budget cuts to the system, which are only partially redressed by Obama's federal financing.

The Times suggests the problem is spreading to SUNY colleges, and perhaps nationally.

We should have seen this coming when the subway advertising for CUNY schools started going upscale. Sigh. We're old enough to remember the open admissions policy, when any citizen was guaranteed entry to CUNY. Now even if you meet the requirements, you might not get in. The trend is clear. Four words for you, Benjamin: Heating and air conditioning