Speaking up for the 100 percenters

Pretty much says it all.

And what Florida Gov. Rick Scott has said is worth considering, too:

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Mother Jones doesn’t like Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal to cut back on support for liberal arts education in favor of more practical subjects. But I think this trend is inevitable anyway, given economic realities. Just look at all those unemployed and heavily-indebted #Occupy protesters. I didn’t notice any Petroleum Engineering graduates among them. Here’s what Scott said:

You know, we don’t need a lot more anthropologists in the state. It’s a great degree if people want to get it, but we don’t need them here. I want to spend our dollars giving people science, technology, engineering, math degrees. That’s what our kids need to focus all their time and attention on. Those type of degrees. So when they get out of school, they can get a job.

Even at Mother Jones we hear: “Scott’s reasoning could attract a lot of Floridians.” Ya think? But there’s this, too: “Is a degree’s intrinsic value really reducible to its marketability?”

After decades of selling college as an “investment” — and pricing it accordingly — it’s going to be hard for the higher education establishment to pivot to a college-as-personal-fulfillment argument. If it’s the latter, it’s a consumption good, priced on a par with a Porsche or Ferrari. Those shouldn’t be financed by debt, or bought by 18-year-olds. If college liberal-arts degrees, on the other hand, are to be sold as a public good, benefiting society so much that society should pay the freight, then (1) Society should have a much bigger say in what’s being taught; and (2) It might be nice to see some actual, you know, evidence of that. Also, students should be warned up front that they’ll be spending 4 years (or 5, or 6) of their lifespan doing something that’s good for society. The trust-funders may be okay with that, but that’s not a lot.

Regardless of what governors do, though, the market is likely to re-allocate resources on its own. The sight of those impoverished, indebted OWS folks sends a signal of its own to potential buyers and borrowers. . . .

UPDATE: Reader Bill Richmond writes: “The guy that makes my coffee just got his degree in Cultural Anthropology. And somehow, he’s still making coffee.”

Okay, this all stout stuff coming from a guy (me) whose B.A. is in philosophy and whose other degree of a Master of Divinity. To which I add only two things. First, the day I got my diploma in philosophy, I took a commission as an Army field artillery officer and learned a real trade and a dozen (at least) skills useful outside the Army - and the philosophy training actually was very useful when I served on the Army staff at the Pentagon. Maybe another post about that. Second, an M.Div. is a trade degree for anyone seeking ordination in most denominations, certainly in the UMC. And for that reason, Vanderbilt (whence I earned it) classified the M.Div. as a "professional" degree rather than a postgraduate degree. Reason being the M.Div. is a terminal credential for ordinands.

But you know, exploding stuff into tiny pieces was a great way to make a living, too.