He writes regularly at his blog: How Did We Get Into This Mess? “To rebut Rubio you would have to compare wages of those who studied philosophy in undergrad”.
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“Here’s the best way to raise wages”. During the debate, Mr. Rubio expressed concern that “we have stigmatized vocational education”. We’ve also got record-high unemployment and millions of jobs no one seems to want, many of which require a skillset, not necessarily a diploma. This part of the 20th century, the ’50s, is most often pointed to by presidential candidates as America’s golden age. But as Evgeny Morozov says, you can’t have a movement without a philosophy, and the really interesting aspects of the Maker program are philosophical, rather than material.
Rubio went a step further.
It may only be six to seven seconds long, but a drum solo from a little-known track called “Amen, Brother” could very well be one of the most famous beats in the world.
Most critics cited the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which lists the median annual salary for welders at $37,420. The data on wages and education reveal two things. For college professors, the median salary is $89,913, with the top 10 percent having a salary near $200,000. Is a launching pad to economic and executive success a better tagline for philosophy than an economic and executive weakness? The real reason for philosophers is that they are truly the people who will shape the future.
“For a member of Congress who is placed there, and given the trust of the people, to miss votes on something of this magnitude, it’s unfortunate”, Hill told the Des Moines Register.
The evidence of the financial impact of a college degree is strong. The gap is widening for young people.
Many people have spoken up to defend the usefulness of philosophy-and the humanities generally-in a liberal arts education.
Jeb Bush argued Wednesday that he’d be a “better bet” than Marco Rubio in a general election matchup against Hillary Clinton, but he appeared to be at odds with his own super PAC over a potential attack strategy against the Florida senator. The shortage of welders alone is expected to be almost 300,000 by 2020.
It’s true that a few owners of plumbing businesses make lots of money.
As for the proper stance on the philosophy vs. welder question, I think that, as with the philosophy in governance question, it’s a case of “all of the above”.
Many skills that are essential to a high-performing economy – and that garner middle-class wages – aren’t taught in college. But by the time the philosophy grads are mid-career, they’re taking in an average of $81,200. The welders at the American Welding Society message board all testify to the job security and generally higher pay of union jobs.
I don’t know whether a proper analysis would confirm or refute Rubio’s statement. Never mind obscenely indebted. That’s for another day.
Assigned its proper function, good philosophy works fine “when you run something”. But philosophical skills are much more broadly applicable.
To be a “philosopher” is to be a lover of wisdom, if we are to take the Greek literally. Philosophers include not just those lucky enough to become a philosophy professor.
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Rubio said he’d let high school students use federal Pell grants ─ normally reserved to help pay for college ─ to cover trade school costs. We’re all in this together.
