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UK perspective here: we had a huge push to get "everyone" into higher education with the idea being that university attendance is correlated with higher income,
by throwaway22032 2y ago
UK perspective here: we had a huge push to get "everyone" into higher education with the idea being that university attendance is correlated with higher income, so more degree holders = better economy.
In reality it's just created a large not-quite-elite that consider themselves "underemployed", when in reality there never were any jobs for 80%+ of them.
I feel that instead we should have promoted self employment / small businesses and created the environment for that.
That is to say - housing and building policy that ensures reasonable rents for living and shops, taxation policy that rewards taking risks, etc. Trade schools teaching people useful skills that they can apply without relying on some sort of ever-expanding bureaucracy to slot in to.
The focus on credentialism is backwards in my view. Most employers don't use it other than as, basically, a glorified signifier of IQ.
- eru 2y ago> [...] with the idea being that university attendance is correlated with higher income, so more degree holders = better economy. That sounds a bit like buying a Lamborghini in order to get rich? Lamborghini ownership is highly correlated with net worth. > I feel that instead we should have promoted self employment / small businesses and created the environment for that. Or just not done anything. At least that wouldn't actively waste resources. > The focus on credentialism is backwards in my view. Most employers don't use it other than as, basically, a glorified signifier of IQ. Alas, employers do use it, to a degree. And for good reason. See Bryan Caplan's Case Against Education for some background.
- readthenotes1 2y ago"signifier of IQ" I believe I read that in the USA, the average IQ of college students is 100. But with the student loans they have to take, I'm not quite so sure it can be that high
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