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I understand your point, but don't think the Walmart/Meth comparison is fair. Walmart is full of hardworking people doing honorable work that provides for their

I understand your point, but don't think the Walmart/Meth comparison is fair. Walmart is full of hardworking people doing honorable work that provides for their families and contributes to their communities.

ryandrake 6y ago
Agreed--not making them equivalent. It's a deliberately wide spectrum for folks with few opportunities. The overall point is that what the dean perceived as risk aversion may instead be the chilling effect of the growing lack of opportunity for all but the top 1% of the next few generations. If people want to nit pick about two words, I can't stop them.
- refurb 6y ago
  What you said is horribly offensive and pretty eye opening about how you see the lives of middle and lower class Americans. There are plenty of hard working, proud Americans of all races who never go to a fancy school or maybe never go to college at all, yet the have good paying jobs (maybe not good paying to you), live in good neighborhoods (again, probably ones you look down on), raise respectable kids who are kind (again, people who you’d never hang out with) and yes, they even shop or work at Walmart.
  - redis_mlc 6y ago
    > What you said is horribly offensive No, it actually wasn't. Without any statistics, your reply is simply virtue signalling. Also, your attitude is why people can't debate in a productive manner online anymore. We do know that the prescription opioid crisis in middle America is related to lack of job opportunities, which contradicts your point.
  - DrAwdeOccarim 6y ago
    Thank you for this comment. The elitist caste in America have gotten far too big for their britches. And then they wonder why Trump won and why we did not have a peaceful transfer of power for arguably the first time in our nation's history. Being born into comfort only takes a generation to wonder why doesn't everyone just "get more money?".
  - JohnBooty 6y ago
    I don't speak for the parent poster but it seems abundantly clear they're decrying the widening gap between those with access to good-paying jobs and those who are deprived of opportunity. Frankly, it seems like you're on the same side.
    - kortilla 6y ago
      No, it’s the implication that without a college degree you have some shitty life deprived of opportunity. This is both paternalistic and condescending. There is nothing wrong with making 80k a year in Iowa as an electrician and paying down a mortgage on a 250k house. That’s not a deprivation of opportunity.
      - codyb 6y ago
        80k a year’s a pretty good salary almost anywhere. There’s plenty in NYC who live on less. GP wasn’t saying everyone in Idaho is a crack head or heroin junkie due to the unfulfilled nature of their work, they were saying there’s too many jobs in America at below living wages and there’s this huge huge gap between the working poor and the white collar that’s only expanding. Trade schools are great and put out talented professionals who earn decent salaries. Many people outside of white collar positions and Yale alumni live very rewarding, cultured, and fulfilling lives. But it doesn’t mean we can’t as a society do better for our lower classes, and a lot of parents are understandably concerned about their children graduating with a mountain of debt, getting a job that pays like shit, not having access to health care, and living an unfulfilling life. If your life is rewarding in those conditions it is despite your circumstance which certainly does not optimize for a stress free, meaningful and rewarding existence.
      - JohnBooty 6y ago
        I certainly agree with you. I've no college degree and I'm making a good living. I just didn't think the parent poster was saying otherwise.
  - ryandrake 6y ago
    Wow, I don't know what brush you're trying to paint me with but it's the wrong one. I'm one of those B-C students who, through luck of when I was born, managed to grab a tiny bit of upward mobility and cobble together an OK middle-of-the-road life. No Ivy League track for me. If I was born today and took the same path, I'd probably be struggling a lot due to how bifurcated and winner-take-all things are getting. I look around today and am very worried that my child and her generation will not have any opportunities unless they're valedictorian. Those good paying jobs you talk about are good, but they're disappearing rapidly.
jtxxwl2 6y ago
Is working for Walmart something you would aspire for your grandchildren to be doing as a career?

ryandrake 6y ago

Agreed--not making them equivalent. It's a deliberately wide spectrum for folks with few opportunities. The overall point is that what the dean perceived as risk aversion may instead be the chilling effect of the growing lack of opportunity for all but the top 1% of the next few generations. If people want to nit pick about two words, I can't stop them.

refurb 6y ago
What you said is horribly offensive and pretty eye opening about how you see the lives of middle and lower class Americans. There are plenty of hard working, proud Americans of all races who never go to a fancy school or maybe never go to college at all, yet the have good paying jobs (maybe not good paying to you), live in good neighborhoods (again, probably ones you look down on), raise respectable kids who are kind (again, people who you’d never hang out with) and yes, they even shop or work at Walmart.
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  > What you said is horribly offensive No, it actually wasn't. Without any statistics, your reply is simply virtue signalling. Also, your attitude is why people can't debate in a productive manner online anymore. We do know that the prescription opioid crisis in middle America is related to lack of job opportunities, which contradicts your point.
- DrAwdeOccarim 6y ago
  Thank you for this comment. The elitist caste in America have gotten far too big for their britches. And then they wonder why Trump won and why we did not have a peaceful transfer of power for arguably the first time in our nation's history. Being born into comfort only takes a generation to wonder why doesn't everyone just "get more money?".
- JohnBooty 6y ago
  I don't speak for the parent poster but it seems abundantly clear they're decrying the widening gap between those with access to good-paying jobs and those who are deprived of opportunity. Frankly, it seems like you're on the same side.
  - kortilla 6y ago
    No, it’s the implication that without a college degree you have some shitty life deprived of opportunity. This is both paternalistic and condescending. There is nothing wrong with making 80k a year in Iowa as an electrician and paying down a mortgage on a 250k house. That’s not a deprivation of opportunity.
    - codyb 6y ago
      80k a year’s a pretty good salary almost anywhere. There’s plenty in NYC who live on less. GP wasn’t saying everyone in Idaho is a crack head or heroin junkie due to the unfulfilled nature of their work, they were saying there’s too many jobs in America at below living wages and there’s this huge huge gap between the working poor and the white collar that’s only expanding. Trade schools are great and put out talented professionals who earn decent salaries. Many people outside of white collar positions and Yale alumni live very rewarding, cultured, and fulfilling lives. But it doesn’t mean we can’t as a society do better for our lower classes, and a lot of parents are understandably concerned about their children graduating with a mountain of debt, getting a job that pays like shit, not having access to health care, and living an unfulfilling life. If your life is rewarding in those conditions it is despite your circumstance which certainly does not optimize for a stress free, meaningful and rewarding existence.
    - JohnBooty 6y ago
      I certainly agree with you. I've no college degree and I'm making a good living. I just didn't think the parent poster was saying otherwise.
- ryandrake 6y ago
  Wow, I don't know what brush you're trying to paint me with but it's the wrong one. I'm one of those B-C students who, through luck of when I was born, managed to grab a tiny bit of upward mobility and cobble together an OK middle-of-the-road life. No Ivy League track for me. If I was born today and took the same path, I'd probably be struggling a lot due to how bifurcated and winner-take-all things are getting. I look around today and am very worried that my child and her generation will not have any opportunities unless they're valedictorian. Those good paying jobs you talk about are good, but they're disappearing rapidly.

jtxxwl2 6y ago

Is working for Walmart something you would aspire for your grandchildren to be doing as a career?