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> Compared to trillions of dollars of unnecessary war spending we've already borrowed for and spent? Two wrongs don't make a right. > Tradesmen can be forgive

> Compared to trillions of dollars of unnecessary war spending we've already borrowed for and spent? Two wrongs don't make a right. > Tradesmen can be forgiven for not understanding macroeconomic policy though Well that's very classist of you. I've seen a whole mess of folks with fancy credentials that are about as useful as a pair of tits on a hog. You know what I saw when I went to university? Professors willfully lowering the bar to cater to unmotived, unprepared students because tuition dollars. Fix that and then we can talk about free education, until then you're just pouring gasoline onto a dumpster fire.

toomuchtodo 7y ago
> Well that's very classist of you. I've seen a whole mess of folks with fancy credentials that are about as useful as a pair of tits on a hog. I wouldn't have a welder or other tradesperson perform neurosurgery on me, nor argue as my defense attorney in court. Why would I expect them any more qualified to set economic policy? That's not classism, that's common sense and reason. What is more astounding is that someone could be of the opinion that as person not educated in economics should have the ability to set such policy. An intelligent, rational human being evaluates a decision and delegates the responsibility to a domain expert when they have ascertained that the domain knowledge and experience they have falls outside of what is required to make said decision. Any other course of action isn't just irrational, but possibly dangerous ("unknown unknowns", "you don't know what you don't know").
- mieseratte 7y ago
  > Why would I expect them any more qualified to set economic policy? Well that's moving the goalposts. You'd made it out like a tradesman couldn't understand economic policy to begin with, that's a different contention.
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    Yes, I’m saying exactly this, that your average tradesperson doesn’t understand macroeconomic policy, why monetary velocity is crucial for the health of an economic system, etc. Outliers certainly exist, but we’re talking average.
    - mieseratte 7y ago
      > why monetary velocity is crucial for the health of an economic system I sincerely doubt it takes a university education to understand that more money changing hands is a good sign of a healthy economy. They do still teach civics and economics in high school. It also doesn't take a degree to know that giving money to someone, or in this case something, with no incentive to act right is a bad thing.
      - toomuchtodo 7y ago
        Disagree on both points. Basic personal finance isn’t even taught in high school. Witness the financial illiteracy rate of the general public. And it entirely makes sense to expunge debt that shouldn’t have existed because of broken public policy and an ignorant electorate that withdrew public funding from higher education, necessitating the need for education loans. I understand it might be difficult for some to understand this concept, which is why you push forward despite the opinion of those people.

toomuchtodo 7y ago

> Well that's very classist of you. I've seen a whole mess of folks with fancy credentials that are about as useful as a pair of tits on a hog. I wouldn't have a welder or other tradesperson perform neurosurgery on me, nor argue as my defense attorney in court. Why would I expect them any more qualified to set economic policy? That's not classism, that's common sense and reason. What is more astounding is that someone could be of the opinion that as person not educated in economics should have the ability to set such policy. An intelligent, rational human being evaluates a decision and delegates the responsibility to a domain expert when they have ascertained that the domain knowledge and experience they have falls outside of what is required to make said decision. Any other course of action isn't just irrational, but possibly dangerous ("unknown unknowns", "you don't know what you don't know").

mieseratte 7y ago
> Why would I expect them any more qualified to set economic policy? Well that's moving the goalposts. You'd made it out like a tradesman couldn't understand economic policy to begin with, that's a different contention.
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  Yes, I’m saying exactly this, that your average tradesperson doesn’t understand macroeconomic policy, why monetary velocity is crucial for the health of an economic system, etc. Outliers certainly exist, but we’re talking average.
  - mieseratte 7y ago
    > why monetary velocity is crucial for the health of an economic system I sincerely doubt it takes a university education to understand that more money changing hands is a good sign of a healthy economy. They do still teach civics and economics in high school. It also doesn't take a degree to know that giving money to someone, or in this case something, with no incentive to act right is a bad thing.
    - toomuchtodo 7y ago
      Disagree on both points. Basic personal finance isn’t even taught in high school. Witness the financial illiteracy rate of the general public. And it entirely makes sense to expunge debt that shouldn’t have existed because of broken public policy and an ignorant electorate that withdrew public funding from higher education, necessitating the need for education loans. I understand it might be difficult for some to understand this concept, which is why you push forward despite the opinion of those people.