Exactly the mentality I am talking about. You say well rounded. I say we jumped through more hoops. Do you what the new trend in secondary education is? Taking your gen Ed course work at a two year tech school then transferring to the college of your choice for the special -read courses not available- at said tech school due to some constaint whether it is population, location, or financial. Now I have to keep in mind what I call tech school you might call community college. Where i am from they are the same thing.
What "mentality" are you talking about? I didn't say that you couldn't get into a decent, respected career with a two-year, "no frills" degree from a tech school, and I didn't say anything about tech schools being for people who couldn't get in to a 4 year university, did I?
In fact, I think I said pretty much what you're trying to say, that if you don't desire the "fluffier" portions of a 4 year degree that make it a "liberal arts" experience and you just want a more streamlined "tell me what I need to know for my job" type of education (and your chosen career field doesn't require a 4 year degree of course), then yes, an associate's is a good option, and not to be disrespected.
Like I said, I do think that there is value to the "fluff", because any type of study results in the improvement of critical thinking skills and can improve job performance regardless of one's chosen discipline. Plus, I'm just a geek. I actually enjoyed elective classes like literature, history, appreciation, etc. Not everyone does though, and not everyone wants to study those things, and that's fine.
One thing you said does puzzle me though...since when is doing your gen eds at a two year school and then transferring to a four year a "new trend"? People have been doing that (for various reasons) for a long time now. That's what I did in fact, did my gen ed core at a community college and then transferred to a four year to finish my BBA.
Also, I don't know where you're from, but I would disagree that a tech school and community college are necessarily the same thing. I view a tech school as a two year institution who's (majority of) degrees are designed to be employable upon graduation, i.e. they provide vocational training. Most community colleges certainly do provide those types of degrees, but they also have large populations of students who's intent is to finish an associate's (or simply finish two years of classes) and then transfer out for a bachelor's elsewhere.
Some "tech" schools offer gen ed transfer degrees and programs, but not all do. Community colleges always offer those types of programs...