Education and the Wealth Divide

[edro]

This morning on NPR, they had the Harvard professor on, whose class was walked out on. He was a Bush adviser and a Republican. He has been outspoken on the wealth divide and how he doesn't believe it is a major problem.

He gave the same answer as everyone else in the media and politics; the answer is education.

I do not agree. Education is not the all encompassing answer and never will be.
A large percentage of the population is simply not educable.

I personally believe much of the low class is there because of mental capacity, work ethic, culture, parenting, etc.

The education system cannot fix many of these problems.
I also do not believe the wealth divide is a problem.

 

[Doppel]

Even if you're very smart and well educated, if you still don't come from a given family or background you can face challenges that others won't. The wealth divide is caused by a multitude of factors.

 

[Anarchist420]

This morning on NPR, they had the Harvard professor on, whose class was walked out on. He was a Bush adviser and a Republican. He has been outspoken on the wealth divide and how he doesn't believe it is a major problem.

He gave the same answer as everyone else in the media and politics; the answer is education.

I do not agree. Education is not the all encompassing answer and never will be.
A large percentage of the population is simply not educable.

I personally believe much of the low class is there because of mental capacity, work ethic, culture, parenting, etc.

The education system cannot fix many of these problems.
I also do not believe the wealth divide is a problem.

The U.S. department of Education certainly hasn't helped education. I agree that some people are uneducable, but a lot of it has to do with the Federal government. Harvard gets Federal funding.

I think that the wealth divide is a problem, but only because a lot of it is created by the government.

 

[Anarchist420]

Even if you're very smart and well educated, if you still don't come from a given family or background you can face challenges that others won't. The wealth divide is caused by a multitude of factors.

That's true. On my paternal side, my dad is really the only one who actually succeeded (and that was before the U.S. Dept of Education). However, my cousins (after the Dept. of Education was established) are kind of screwed up and working low wage jobs because of their parents. One of them got fired from the best job he had because he didn't have anyway to get to work. I got through college because my parents had the money and I got through high school because my mom made sure I did well by nagging the fuck out of me.

 

[CPA]

Even if you're very smart and well educated, if you still don't come from a given family or background you can face challenges that others won't. The wealth divide is caused by a multitude of factors.

Sure, but is that the wealthy's fault?

Plus, plenty of wealthy people have lost everything. Is that the poor's fault.

Why do we continue to blame the success/plight/economic standing of someone else on our own status?

 

[dmcowen674]

Education and the Wealth Divide

This morning on NPR, they had the Harvard professor on, whose class was walked out on.

He was a Bush adviser and a Republican.

He has been outspoken on the wealth divide and how he doesn't believe it is a major problem.

No surprise, he sounds like the rich Republican radicals on here.

Glad to see his class walked out on his ass.

 

[PeshakJang]

No surprise, he sounds like the rich Republican radicals on here.

Glad to see his class walked out on his ass.

And here we have an example of one of those that simply lacks the mental capacity or desire to succeed in life. He simply does enough spend his life floundering in his current state.

Poor little dave.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

This morning on NPR, they had the Harvard professor on, whose class was walked out on. He was a Bush adviser and a Republican. He has been outspoken on the wealth divide and how he doesn't believe it is a major problem.

He gave the same answer as everyone else in the media and politics; the answer is education.

He sounds like a moron spouting out the conventional dogma. It's easier for our politicians, economists, and pundits to distract the sheeple by saying that we need more and better education (or that technological advance is killing jobs) than it is to identify our nation's real economic problem--global labor arbitrage.

Plenty of college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, and underemployment-out-of-field has been around since long before the current depression:

Why Did 17 Million Students Go to College?

From Wall Street to Wal-Mart: Why College Graduates Are Not Getting Good Jobs

 

[IronWing]

I listened to the interview. The good professor evaded every question concerning the causes of the growth of the income gap. His mantra was "Growth in income inequality is a forty year trend that can't be blamed on Bush tax cuts or the other policies I advocated."

 

[halik]

I'm pretty sure education cannot empirically explain the explosive growth of wealth in the top end. After all the phenomenon is observed in the highest stratum of income, not education. PHDs are not making far more money than what they used to.

 

[Texashiker]

He gave the same answer as everyone else in the media and politics; the answer is education.

I think the answer is innovation.

With the prices of higher education these days, its almost impossible for a working class family to pay for their kids to go to college.

There are a grants and loans available, but loans are a road to debt, and one goal in life should be to live debt free. So by taking a loan out for college, the first path you take, is the path you do not want to take.

If you want to go to work for someone else, get an education.

If you want to rely on yourself, innovate or create something.

 

[piasabird]

There is a difference between education and indoctrination by the government machine???

 

[fskimospy]

I'm pretty sure education cannot empirically explain the explosive growth of wealth in the top end. After all the phenomenon is observed in the highest stratum of income, not education. PHDs are not making far more money than what they used to.

Exactly. The good professor is simply empirically wrong. The massive growth in income has been for the top 1%, and to be completely fair it is mostly concentrated in a small fraction of that top 1%. The rest of the country that have college degrees have not shared in this increased prosperity.

Also, to the OP, the wealth divide is certainly a problem. A lot of economics research shows that excessive income inequality retards GDP growth.

 

[fskimospy]

There is a difference between education and indoctrination by the government machine???

Yes.

 

[piasabird]

A lot depends on personalities and natural mental ability and the family that you are brought up in. Then, some of the richest people in America started their business in their parents Garage, and their parents told them they would never amount to anything. It is hard to determine which people will be successful and which people will not!

A lot has to do with being able to overcome those preconceived notions that most people have about the world, and believing that we can succeed.

 

[Macamus Prime]

I personally believe much of the low class is there because of mental capacity, work ethic, culture, parenting, etc.

There are plenty of "high" class people who are worse than the low class. The same people we should be following as examples do things that are far more terrible than any crack head out there. Stop trying to vilify the poor.

I also do not believe the wealth divide is a problem.

Of course you don't - because it leads to further worsening the state of the have-nots; which is something people like you look forward to.

 

[Paul98]

There are so many problems with the system we have currently. Blaming a single thing is not very helpful. But with that being said if you try to correct it you have to start somewhere. Saying that the bush tax cuts didn't have anything to do with it is wrong, it's just one of many. But some people want to keep on piling it on and then saying it's something else that's causing it. That shit needs to stop.

 

[Delita]

The professor was Gregory Mankiw, who teaches an introductory econ course at Harvard. I occasionally check out his blog and saw this the other day. Here is an account of what happened with the walkout:
http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2011/11/occupy-wall-street-comes-to-ec-10.html

 

[halik]

Exactly. The good professor is simply empirically wrong. The massive growth in income has been for the top 1%, and to be completely fair it is mostly concentrated in a small fraction of that top 1%. The rest of the country that have college degrees have not shared in this increased prosperity.

Also, to the OP, the wealth divide is certainly a problem. A lot of economics research shows that excessive income inequality retards GDP growth.

I still suspect vast majority of it is a result of lobbying for lower LT cap gains and the impact is really only on the top .01% which inevitably skews up the 1% and up bucket.

 

[Dman8777]

I think the answer is innovation.

With the prices of higher education these days, its almost impossible for a working class family to pay for their kids to go to college.

There are a grants and loans available, but loans are a road to debt, and one goal in life should be to live debt free. So by taking a loan out for college, the first path you take, is the path you do not want to take.

If you want to go to work for someone else, get an education.

If you want to rely on yourself, innovate or create something.

Working class families can afford higher education in most states. Just because Harvard costs 50k a year doesn't mean all schools cost that much. If you want to get a degree in the US, there's almost always a way to do it with grants, scholarships, financial aid, part-time school/part-time work, etc etc.

 

[Texashiker]

One of the MAJOR problems with our schools, kids are not taught "how to make money".

We are told to get an education and go to work for someone else. The problem is, that is not how you make money.

If this nation wants to address the wealth divide, everyone should be taught how to make money. Then, stop the lies about getting an education and going to work for someone else.

All and education does is create a higher level of worker bees. You have the bees that gather the pollen, and then you have the bees that work on the honeycomb, but they all work for the queen bee.

If you want to get a degree in the US, there's almost always a way to do it with grants, scholarships, financial aid, part-time school/part-time work, etc etc.

There is a community college close to me and its affordable, but who wants to drive an hour one way to go to school.

 

[Dman8777]

Like I said, if someone wants a degree there's usually a solution. You don't want one badly enough to drive an hour or to move closer to a school. Obviously there can't be a college on every block of every town in the US.

 

[Paul98]

that's what online courses are for, then you can take your class anywhere you want.

 

[Texashiker]

Like I said, if someone wants a degree there's usually a solution.

that's what online courses are for, then you can take your class anywhere you want.

Just because someone goes to college does not mean they know how to make money.

Part of this wealth divide issue is people not knowing how to make money.

There are 2 problems here:

Knowing how to make money

Knowing how to live debt free / Knowing how to hang onto your money

Neither of which are taught in most schools.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

Sure, but is that the wealthy's fault?

Plus, plenty of wealthy people have lost everything. Is that the poor's fault.

Why do we continue to blame the success/plight/economic standing of someone else on our own status?

Did he say it's the weathy's fault? You are setting up a strawman. Most people agree that the growing wealth divide is a problem. By your logic we can discuss any of the systemic factors that are producing this result.