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... and in fact a lot of them actually have economics degrees because it is a great background for that position. So they probably understand better than you or

... and in fact a lot of them actually have economics degrees because it is a great background for that position. So they probably understand better than you or I roughly how many jobs are going to be killed by these tight regulations. Maybe things have change a lot in the last three years, but: "As Congress works on one of the most important pieces of economic legislation in a generation, a Washington research group has pointed out that more than 8 in 10 members of Congress don’t have a formal educational background in the business, economics, or finance fields." "The research by the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy, which aims to educate the general public about finance issues, showed that about 14% have degrees in economics-related fields and just 6.7% specifically have an economics degree. More than 30% of members have degrees in politics and government, while 18% majored in humanities. " http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/10/01/most-lawmakers-dont-have-economic-education/ http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/10/01/most-lawmakers-don...

krschultz 15y ago
Members of congress != people who write the laws. A member of congress is the politician. He talks. He presses the flesh. He casts the actual votes. I recently saw that is it 70% lawyers, 15% career politicians, 10% businessmen, and 5% other. But behind every congressman, every senator, and of course the President, is a group of experts. Every policy paper is written by a staffer. Nearly every political decision is made by a staffer. When they talk about a Congressman's staff, they are not talking about the intern getting coffee. Those guys are topical experts - usually based on what committee the guy sits on. Those guys are not dumb, and a lot more of them have econ degrees. When I was figuring out what to do with my life it was become an engineer or become a staffer, I spoke to a couple guys in it. The typical road is go to Georgetown or George Washington University and get degrees in economics and political science or public policy, intern during college on a campaign or for a congressman, and then work your way up to a paid position. It's quite competitive.
- jamesbritt 15y ago
  But behind every congressman, every senator, and of course the President, is a group of experts. Every policy paper is written by a staffer. Nearly every political decision is made by a staffer. And yet numerous bone-headed, ill-conceived, laws are written and passed. While politicians may have smart technical people on their team it appears that, in the end, they choose what laws are written (and passed) based on political expediency, not, technical merit. I have to wonder then if politicians are willfully ignoring their experts, or if they discount their experts because they themselves still can't grasp what they are being told. Or they pick experts who agree with their foregone conclusions. At the end of the day this country would be better served with more politicians with proper economic and scientific educations. (That would eliminate a good number of so-called Tea Party candidates for one thing.)

krschultz 15y ago

Members of congress != people who write the laws. A member of congress is the politician. He talks. He presses the flesh. He casts the actual votes. I recently saw that is it 70% lawyers, 15% career politicians, 10% businessmen, and 5% other. But behind every congressman, every senator, and of course the President, is a group of experts. Every policy paper is written by a staffer. Nearly every political decision is made by a staffer. When they talk about a Congressman's staff, they are not talking about the intern getting coffee. Those guys are topical experts - usually based on what committee the guy sits on. Those guys are not dumb, and a lot more of them have econ degrees. When I was figuring out what to do with my life it was become an engineer or become a staffer, I spoke to a couple guys in it. The typical road is go to Georgetown or George Washington University and get degrees in economics and political science or public policy, intern during college on a campaign or for a congressman, and then work your way up to a paid position. It's quite competitive.

jamesbritt 15y ago
But behind every congressman, every senator, and of course the President, is a group of experts. Every policy paper is written by a staffer. Nearly every political decision is made by a staffer. And yet numerous bone-headed, ill-conceived, laws are written and passed. While politicians may have smart technical people on their team it appears that, in the end, they choose what laws are written (and passed) based on political expediency, not, technical merit. I have to wonder then if politicians are willfully ignoring their experts, or if they discount their experts because they themselves still can't grasp what they are being told. Or they pick experts who agree with their foregone conclusions. At the end of the day this country would be better served with more politicians with proper economic and scientific educations. (That would eliminate a good number of so-called Tea Party candidates for one thing.)