In GOP Debate, Rubio Again Criticizes Philosophy

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

With more cash in the pipeline, Rubio is expected to spend more money on travel to early voting states and on larger events aimed at putting him in front of as many voters as possible.

To connect these dots, TV host Mike Rowe has once again offered a refreshing perspective, cutting through the more trivial aspects, and reminding us that this needn’t be “either-or”.

The line drew a roar from the audience in Milwaukee – and a groan from philosophy majors watching at home. And not just philosophy: I’d guess anyone who has or is considering a degree in the humanities – things like history, drama, art, anthropology, literature and music – winced at that soundbite.

While Rubio’s advisers say they’re simply executing the next phase in a carefully crafted campaign blueprint, there’s no doubt the team’s early penny-pinching was driven in part by necessity.

My thoughts went immediately to a moment almost 30 years ago when I sat in a college chemistry class and realized, for the first time, that I didn’t enjoy science and wanted to be a writer. At the debate, he won applause for the line, although he quipped in Davenport, “I’m going to have to find another major to pick on”. But it was clear to me even then, by the way Dad hesitated and said, “Ohhhhhh-kay”, that “English degree” equaled “unemployed”. They achieve the second-highest average of any major on the LSAT, used for admission to law school, and the fourth-highest average on the GMAT, used for admission to business school – higher than majors in business, economics, finance, marketing or management. They’re searching, questioning, considering, exploring. And right now, there are plenty vocational jobs available. A few things don’t change.

In the past, he’s proposed more vocational training and apprenticeships. The world needs plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, HVAC experts and, yes, welders. We need police officers, cooks, firefighters, soldiers and hair stylists. Schools shouldn’t discourage children from exploring those possibilities.

The message: just because you don’t have a college degree doesn’t mean you can’t earn a decent living. If you raise the minimum wage you’re going to make people more expensive than a machine. “Because you deserve to know that the market for Greek philosophers has tightened over the last 2,000 years”. But that doesn’t mean a philosophy degree is worthless. Criminals will have to be deported, people that have not been here long enough will have to be deported. A willingness to work hard, to master a skill that’s in demand, and to go where the demand is. Philosophy teaches numerous skills most valued in today’s economy: critical thinking, analysis, effective written and verbal communication, problem solving, and more.

As the GOP presidential nominee in 2012, Mitt Romney said he would not deport young people covered by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (although, notoriously, he urged other illegal immigrants to “self-deport”).

But to pit philosophy against welding, using only potential earnings as the measuring stick, isn’t fair to either pursuit.