“A lot of welders are going to be retired soon and there hasn’t been as many younger trade workers to learn the necessary skills to replace them”, he says.
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Philosophy is under attack these days, but we are not alone. (Just ask the moderators at the CNBC debate that took place two weeks ago.) It’s answers they love: flatly stated, fact-free answers that feed their I’ve-got-mine-screw-everybody-else worldview.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz went into anti-philosophy mode in denouncing the Federal Reserve, describing Fed governors (twice) as “a series of philosopher-kings trying to guess what’s happening with the economy”.
Oddie said he believed Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s overall presentation was “horrible – just awful”.
“Welders make more money than philosophers”, he said.
Today, he doubled-down on his riff during a campaign stop at the Jersey Grille in Davenport, Iowa.
None of which is to say that there aren’t more lucrative majors than philosophy (including, notably, engineering). “And philosophy majors’ success is borne out in both data – which show that philosophy majors consistently outperform almost all other majors on graduate entrance exams such as the GRE and LSAT, and that philosophy ties with mathematics for the highest percentage increase from starting to midcareer salary”. Philosophy and the humanities are not merely handmaidens of job-training courses, however useful they may be in that role; they are at the core of what makes education – and life – valuable. But there’s a difference between a professional philosopher and someone who merely majored in the discipline. In politi-speak, he is definitely what’s called a “job creator”.
The first-term Florida senator, who won praise for his performance in the debate in Milwaukee the night before, covered a range of topics in front of a crowd his campaign estimated at 400.
Trump offered simple advice, from a man who made it with nothing but a million dollar stake from his father: “People have to go out and work really hard if they want to get into that upper stratum”. NY hedge fund manager Cliff Asness announced this week he was putting his chips on the Florida senator.
Trump insisted that people living in the USA without documentation are avoiding taxation at all levels.
Consider this: The Labor Department projects “slower than average” growth for welder jobs over the next decade. But by the time the philosophy grads are mid-career, they’re taking in an average of $81,200. Two other job categories including “welding” or “welder” have median wages of $40,040 and $36,450.
In responding to a question about educational policy, Rubio lamented the stigmatization of vocational training that discourages many from entering into the manual trades.
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There’s even Virginia motorcycle fix shop owner Matthew B. Crawford who, depending on the day of the week, transforms into Prof. Matthew B. Crawford, Ph.D.in Philosophy.
