It’s quite obvious that Democrats dislike the GOP tax plan (which certainly needs some help, which is why it goes to committee, there are negotiations, reconciliation between the Senate and House, and so forth), but, then, if it recommended a tax increase on The Rich, Democrats would have a kneejerk reaction and denounce it. Especially if Trump said he liked the plan. Over at the Washington Post, hardcore Leftist Catherine Rampell thinks she’s found the solution
The GOP tax plan won’t grow the economy. Here’s what will.
Invest more in people, not stuff.
That’s not a tip for achieving personal happiness. It’s a statement about economic growth.
Right now, much of the Republican tax agenda is geared toward incentivizing investments in physical capital. But that’s not where the country’s real deficit lies. What’s sorely lacking is human capital.
She goes through this and that and the other, complaining about the GOP tax plan, before getting to
What, then, might actually help grow the economy, and help workers in the process?
Skills, skills, skills.
Employers say they can’t find workers with the right skills. The average job vacancy now takes 30 business days to fill, according to a metric based on Labor Department data. That’s close to a record high. The National Federation of Independent Business survey likewise found that in October, more than half (52 percent) of companies reported few or no qualified applicants for positions they’re trying to fill. That’s also nearly an all-time high.
She lets us know that the U.S. was top 5 worldwide in people 25-34 who had a post-secondary school education in 2000, but, now, the U.S. is 10th, and
We also don’t seem to be building up skills in the right things. Less than a quarter of Americans age 25 to 64 with a bachelor’s degree or higher studied in a STEM field. That places us in 19th place among the 28 developed countries for which the OECD publishes data.
That could have something to do with the push to make everyone go to college, take on major debt, and then not be able to pay for it because Liberals think that taking squishy courses in things that tend to end with “Studies” or similar fluff is a good idea. So many want the old “Basket Weaving” degree. But, at least with a basket weaving degree, someone has actual work skills. You could make awesome baskets, start a business, and sell them, later selling off the company to a big company for a nice profit. What does one do with a degree in Gender Studies? Companies want nothing to do with someone who is a threat to cause problems in the workplace nor the lawsuits.
So, what’s her idea?
The lesson here is that we need more Americans getting postsecondary education, not fewer. We need more Americans studying STEM, not fewer. And we need those Americans to go to high-quality postsecondary programs, not scammy ones.
How do we do this? There are three ways: first, you force kids to take STEM courses and graduate with a STEM degree. Catherine makes a big deal of the GOP tax plan removing a few tax breaks related to college loans (I thought Democrats hated “loopholes” in the tax code?). Perhaps the GOP could allow the tax breaks for those who take STEM? She doesn’t say that, but, perhaps a way to force compliance.
Second, there could be a push for people to attend a vocational college. Democrats have made this seem to be Low Class over the years, instead of noting that these are worthwhile skills.
Finally colleges could get rid of most of the squishy, worthless, SJW courses. And Democrats can stop their support for these types of worthless degrees, which just creates more whiny people who have no marketable skills and no value in the market.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
It’s not surprising that a self-described spokesperson (TEACH) for the new Luddites decries suggestions that Americans pursue more education. Rampell did not suggest that American children be forced to pursue STEM education, but rather we give incentives.
A problem with simple purists is you think all policy ideas are equivalent, e.g., that society giving tax incentives to STEM students is the same as a tax credit for a second power boat. Some ideas are better than others. Tax breaks for education? Seems like a good idea unless your political movement opposes education.
Why not argue the truth, that your political movement prefers that the populace be less educated because then voters are easier to fool?
While the Chinese and Indians and rest of the world are studying actual science in their science classes, American conservatives, like the Taliban, want their religion taught in science class.
Do you have evidence that Dems oppose vocational education?
Reductio ad absurdum is a logical fallacy.
I agree that more Americans ought to get into the STEM fields, but, you know what, their education choices are voluntary. Yeah, those choices might be poor ones, but the last thing we need is
Big Brotherthe government assigning courses of study for students.If someone needs a government ‘incentive’ to major in engineering, rather than the English Literature on which he had planned, he’s not too likely to do all that well in engineering.
I feel that Bush was the one to screw up education. Not everyone needs a college degree. And there seems to be a need for people in plumbing and other vocational jobs. They make very good livings, but many are led to college were their failure starts. But this liberal is completely wrong on skills stimulating the economy in the short term. We need massive tax cuts and allowing business to work with far fewer regulations, as well as getting rid of Obamacare.
Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.
V. Lenin
Why do you think the left wants everyone in college>? Wants every teacher to belong to a union? Why do you think the Progressive(Socialist/communist)Jimmy Carter started the Department of Education?
The plan has always been to reeducate the masses.
I think its time for some world wide McCarthyism. After all they are now going after sex offenders, why not communists who have infiltrated the West, Including the EU?