Rubio calls for more welders, fewer philosophers

Having said that, I’m glad Rubio said what he said, because I know for a fact that employers are clamoring for welders.

John Corvino, PhD, is professor and chair of Philosophy at Wayne State University, and the author of numerous works on ethics, marriage and sexuality.

The big picture here is about the skills gap.

So the final there, false, actually.

The median wage of welders is $37,420, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The salary range for Philosophy BAs is then $32,772 – $81,756 for men and $33,291-$71,510 for women. So do faculty from the sciences and professional schools (usually when interviewing for the position of dean of the college or provost).

By contrast, the top 10 percent salary for welders is only about $58,590, BLS says.

Marco Rubio has a new postulate about the 2016 race – he’s not forging any friendships in the philosophy world and instead finding his Nietzsche among welders. According to the federal government, the median wage for welders in Alaska is almost $72,000. Marco Rubio ran for and was elected to the U.S. Senate by Floridians. For welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers-again, the best proxy for “welders” that the BLS has to offer-the mean annual wage from that same period was $40,040.

The fortunes of philosophers – or at least philosophy majors – are a mixed bag, ranging from college teaching adjuncts who can barely pay their rent to tech entrepreneurs.

Rubio rejects comprehensive reform, but otherwise, he does believe there should be a legal framework for people to get right with the law and regularize their status. Marco Rubio decided to make a point about the state of wages, education, and employment in America by comparing welders to philosophers. But Rubio is wrong to suggest that studying philosophy is a waste of money and time. But by the time the philosophy grads are mid-career, they’re taking in an average of $81,200.

Perhaps not surprisingly, there is a great deal of angst in the philosophy community over attempting to define and quantify what it means to be a philosopher vis-à-vis Labor Department data. Many economists will admit that they rely on philosophers to help them understand and evaluate these benefits.

Philosophy is not unique in propelling its majors to financial success. Compare someone learning auto-repair to someone getting a philosophy degree.

Indeed, Rubio himself was an exemplar, during the debate, of the merits of philosophy.

In addition, the new super PAC published an ad supporting Rubio’s presidential bid, which aired on the Fox Business Network right before Tuesday’s debate as well as online.

BRIAN KILMEADE (HOST): Now I want to talk about something else – welding.

“If you can find a philosopher that can weld, that’s pretty good”, Rubio said.

Others were more, well, philosophical about it all. Here’s your tweet. ‘The Google trend, searches for welding classes are spiking 1300%.’ Are you happy to be behind the welders today?

While I doubt we’ll be seeing him popping bottles at LIV anytime soon, I don’t mind temporarily entertaining the thought that Rubio uses Tiësto’s tracks as his rally music.

“What makes America special is that we have millions and millions of people that are not rich, that through hard work and perseverance are able to be successful”, Rubio said. And there’s a shortage of people.

Wouldn’t surprise me at all to find that philosophy majors gravitate towards higher-paying white-collar jobs upon graduation, not because of the pay but because they’re drawn to the sort of argumentation and abstract problem-solving that those jobs usually involve. Welders work with reality in its most basic form. Senators make more money than sanitation workers, but we definitely need more sanitation workers than senators.

The Daily Caller: Rubio “Matched Substance With Soaring Rhetoric”.

Former Republican Party of Florida chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan said Tuesday that it was never her job to question personal expenses charged by Marco Rubio using a party American Express card.

INSKEEP: Well, what damage are Republicans doing to themselves, if any, with this debate, the high-fives that Jeb Bush referred to.

Like he always does, he matched substance with soaring rhetoric. We need an executive who’s been tried, has been tested, and judge the decisions that that executive makes.