An inelegant evisceration.
In healthier times, the ongoing spat between Richard Vedder and Anthony Carnevale on the topic of the value of college degrees might've made it as far as the attackademia community. However, nobody posts anything there any more, and the utter grimness/futility of the arguments (not to mention the implicit spectre of a familiar refrain concerning lies, damned lies, and statistics) is almost enough to deter any but the most seasoned laughing pointer.
Almost.
This pointer isn't laughing, but the seasoning comes as standard, and one passage in particular from the last volley (http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2011/01/20/vedder_going_to_college_isn_t_a_smart_decision_for_many_young_people) leapt off the screen, demanding representation, because Vedder - in his apparent frustration - has finally jumped the shark, belittling not only Carnevale, but an entire academic discipline...or at least its more youthful proponents:
'I will argue that the BLS data are, in fact, pretty good, and that while Carnevale is factually correct about the earnings data, his interpretation of it is, at the minimum, misleading. Moreover, I will further argue that what is involved here is a classic application of what economists over the age of 50 call “Say’s Law” (i.e., the theory suggesting that supply creates its own demand; economists under 50 are largely ignorant of it because they have no knowledge of the evolution of their own discipline, reflecting the general abandonment of thorough teaching of the history of economic thought).'
Even for this old cynic, slipping uncomfortably and occasionally reluctantly into a middle-aged mindset, wherein the young are generally regarded with a mixture of suspicion and pity, the word "sweeping" still holds some sway in the critical lexicon...
Almost.
This pointer isn't laughing, but the seasoning comes as standard, and one passage in particular from the last volley (http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2011/01/20/vedder_going_to_college_isn_t_a_smart_decision_for_many_young_people) leapt off the screen, demanding representation, because Vedder - in his apparent frustration - has finally jumped the shark, belittling not only Carnevale, but an entire academic discipline...or at least its more youthful proponents:
'I will argue that the BLS data are, in fact, pretty good, and that while Carnevale is factually correct about the earnings data, his interpretation of it is, at the minimum, misleading. Moreover, I will further argue that what is involved here is a classic application of what economists over the age of 50 call “Say’s Law” (i.e., the theory suggesting that supply creates its own demand; economists under 50 are largely ignorant of it because they have no knowledge of the evolution of their own discipline, reflecting the general abandonment of thorough teaching of the history of economic thought).'
Even for this old cynic, slipping uncomfortably and occasionally reluctantly into a middle-aged mindset, wherein the young are generally regarded with a mixture of suspicion and pity, the word "sweeping" still holds some sway in the critical lexicon...