It takes a while to get to the key point: If anything, a continuing over-production of Ph.D.s will only make the problem worse. It creates an ever-growing pool

It takes a while to get to the key point: If anything, a continuing over-production of Ph.D.s will only make the problem worse. It creates an ever-growing pool of cheap labor, which administrators are only too happy to employ in place of tenure-track faculty. Shortening Phd programs, and many other so-called solutions doesn't fix this. Blaming a lack of interest in writing doesn't fix it either. In my mind, the #1 fix is to highlight with full transparency the lack of career options, so that potential Phds know what they're up against. The second is to create a relevant drop-off point after 2 years. 2 years in a Physics Phd program is good enough to enable many other careers. 2 years in a Phd program in English should be enough to prepare the student to work in the news, writing or something similar. The big issue here is optimal school behavior (produce as many Phds as possible) conflicts with optimal system behavior (produce roughly the amount as jobs). In the sciences, limits to funding helps provide some of the cap.