I'm a grad student, so I'm sympathetic to these arguments, trust me. But I simply think there's no way around the fact that if you double the positions, you'll

I'm a grad student, so I'm sympathetic to these arguments, trust me. But I simply think there's no way around the fact that if you double the positions, you'll (at least) double the number of graduates. Assuming the faculty:grad-student ratio remains constant. It should be kept in mind that there are other jobs for PhD besides faculty. (Although I don't know about English; maybe editor, etc?) I have mostly made my peace with the fact that by going into academia you are trading money for some intangibles, like doing what you enjoy, flexible hours, etc. Anyone who gets a PhD without knowing the risks is...not very smart. I work in medical research. Trust me, it's not pleasant that total government spending on medical research for a year amounts to the cost of a few dozen bombers. Or that the Iraq War's cost could have funded all our research spending for something like 50 years. But at this point, pointing out how our societal decisions are irrational is like pointing out the sky is blue.