Are there too many educated intellectuals in the world?

[Woodznutz]

The OP's argument that the more educated you are the worse off you are and we are? Only a culture warrior spouting lies would buy into that.

More education means:

1. Higher Lifetime Earnings & Economic Mobility

• On average, bachelor’s degree holders earn roughly 56–86% more than high school grads, translating to nearly $1 million more over a lifetime
• Economic returns remain strong even considering the cost of tuition—with internal rates of return around 14–16%, far above typical stock (7%) or bond (3%) returns Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
• For individuals from low‑income backgrounds, a four‑year degree makes it 3× more likely to reach the top income quintile, and prevents downward mobility for those born in middle or top tiers

2. Improved Health & Longevity

• Each additional year of education lowers mortality risk by ~2%, and completing tertiary education reduces risk by ~34%—equivalent to lifelong healthy diet and avoiding heavy drinking or smoking The Guardian.
• One more year of schooling is estimated to raise life expectancy by 0.18‑0.6 years. In present‑value terms, health gains alone can add $13,500–44,000 to the return on education
• People with higher education typically report lower rates of chronic illness, healthier behaviors, and better health literacy and care access

3. Greater Life Satisfaction & Happiness

• Studies show college graduates report higher life satisfaction, likely due to greater job meaning, security, and autonomy
• Long-term benefits of college—such as confidence, broader perspectives, social networks—also support mental well‑being and adaptability

4. Better Employment Outcomes & Job Security

• College grads have lower unemployment rates (around ~4%) compared to ~9–12% for those with only high school education
• They receive more employer benefits, such as health insurance and retirement plans, and face less risk of job loss

5. Stronger Social, Civic & Community Engagement

• College-educated individuals vote, volunteer, and engage civically at much higher rates—turnout ~75% vs ~52%, volunteer rates nearly double
• They are also 3.5× less likely to live in poverty and 5× less likely to be imprisoned APLU.

6. Broader Public & Societal Benefits

• Education contributes to public safety improvements, with higher schooling levels linked to reduced crime, lower incarceration, and decreased dependence on public assistance
• College-educated people contribute far more in taxes—an average bachelor's recipient contributes $381,000 more in lifetime taxes than they use in services

7. Expanded Skills & Personal Growth

• In addition to domain knowledge, college cultivates critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and adaptability—skills valuable across careers
• A college education fosters networks—peers, mentors, professors—which often lead to new opportunities and personal enrichment

LINKS

https://www.myplainview.com/news/education/article/regional-universities-public-good-20796609.php?

https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/research-summaries/education-earnings.html?

https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/current_issues/ci20-3.pdf?

https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/_files/vod-personal-well-being-brief.pdf?

https://www.luminafoundation.org/files/resources/its-not-just-the-money.pdf

How do college graduates benefit society at large? - APLU

Key Takeaways Nearly 70 percent of bachelor’s degree holders earn their diplomas from public universities and public university graduates play a central role in enhancing their communities.1 Although the public often emphasizes the benefits of a college degree to graduates themselves, the...

www.aplu.org

More money provides all those things. Give a HS grad the same money and he or she will accrue the same benefits. College just gets one access to the 'treasury'. There is little added intrinsic human value conferred by a college education. The purpose of higher education is to better serve fellow man. Most college grads are more interested in serving themselves. The cynical thing about higher education is that grads don't dirty their hands on the human problems of mankind but focus on the shiny things that they can produce and sell to the mass market.

 

[citygator]

More money provides all those things. Give a HS grad the same money and he or she will accrue the same benefits. College just gets one access to the 'treasury'. There is little added intrinsic human value conferred by a college education. The purpose of higher education is to better serve fellow man. Most college grads are more interested in serving themselves. The cynical thing about higher education is that grads don't dirty their hands on the human problems of mankind but focus on the shiny things that they can produce and sell to the mass market.

Meh. You just made that up which explains the lack of links. I will not argue that a college grad is a "better" or "worse" person like you are trying out. That's bullshit. I am showing you that the outcomes are better for people and society with more education. People are people. Some good. Some bad. But the same person will end up with better outcomes with an education. Its irrefutable.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

College helps economic outcomes, but it has no determination on character or ethics.

 

[Woodznutz]

Meh. You just made that up which explains the lack of links. I will not argue that a college grad is a "better" or "worse" person like you are trying out. That's bullshit. I am showing you that the outcomes are better for people and society with more education. People are people. Some good. Some bad. But the same person will end up with better outcomes with an education. Its irrefutable.

The higher educated class serves themselves, which is why all our problems persist. They don't use their monetary or intellectual resources to help others.

I have no argument with education, it's higher education that is the problem as it doesn't carry the practical value that we need most. I'm on YouTube and other such sites all the time learning new practical things.

No doubt you have heard me go on and on about the condition of our local lakes. The brightest minds in the world are unable to figure out that if you properly harvest the f-cking weeds the lakes will get better.

 

[citygator]

The higher educated class serves themselves, which is why all our problems persist. They don't use their monetary or intellectual resources to help others.

I have no argument with education, it's higher education that is the problem as it doesn't carry the practical value that we need most. I'm on YouTube and other such sites all the time learning new practical things.

No doubt you have heard me go on and on about the condition of our local lakes. The brightest minds in the world are unable to figure out that if you cut the ******* weeds the lake will get better.

I can appreciate your frustration with specific issues. I will still take exception that higher educated class serve themselves as if that is some outlier. People are people which are, by default, generally kind but also selfish and that is a battle at any income or education level. Some less kind than others.

 

[Hurricanelover]

There's too many extremely stupid people that think that slave labor is ok in this country. Way to many! We should be getting rid of such concepts and replacing it with robotics.

Humans should always seek to make easy for all.

Voting for an asshole like trump that doesn't believe there should be retirement is the height of evil.

 

[Woodznutz]

Meh. You just made that up which explains the lack of links. I will not argue that a college grad is a "better" or "worse" person like you are trying out. That's bullshit. I am showing you that the outcomes are better for people and society with more education. People are people. Some good. Some bad. But the same person will end up with better outcomes with an education. Its irrefutable.

Of course, but what is meant by "education" is a liberal college education, not the accumulation of general knowledge, or an education in the trades or other special fields. To obtain this education you must go to a college or university. Trade schools, apprenticeships, or other specialized training doesn't count as it doesn't address the liberal intellect that colleges and universities confer.

 

[Woodznutz]

There's too many extremely stupid people that think that slave labor is ok in this country. Way to many! We should be getting rid of such concepts and replacing it with robotics.

Humans should always seek to make easy for all.

Voting for an asshole like trump that doesn't believe there should be retirement is the height of evil.

We are replacing mundane labor with robotics.

Bee's die in zero gravity. We too would waste away without physical activity/work. Many enjoy work, even mundane work. This morning I turned my large compost pile. Mundane work but I enjoy it.

I don't believe in forced retirement. Retire when you want to. I'm 85 and still working a full-time physical job. Love it!

 

[Woodznutz]

College helps economic outcomes, but it has no determination on character or ethics.

College is beneficial to college professors and grads. Others not so much.

 

[Woodznutz]

I can appreciate your frustration with specific issues. I will still take exception that higher educated class serve themselves as if that is some outlier. People are people which are, by default, generally kind but also selfish and that is a battle at any income or education level. Some less kind than others.

University commencement ceremonies are replete with "You are the ones who will make the world a better place" statements. Then they disappear into corporate America never to be heard from again.

Those who have the resources (money, power, brains) to find solutions to problems are nowhere to be seen. Are they on some Greek island sipping exotic drinks?

 

[citygator]

Of course, but what is meant by "education" is a liberal college education, not the accumulation of general knowledge, or an education in the trades or other special fields. To obtain this education you must go to a college or university. Trade schools, apprenticeships, or other specialized training doesn't count as it doesn't address the liberal intellect that colleges and universities confer.

What is meant by an education that will produce better outcomes is a college education, yes. Doesnt mean your life isnt better off by doing a trade over waiting tables. But a degree will help your outcome over trades on average as well.

Here is what i will argue though. People with higher educations are motivated less by fear than those with less education.

Education empowers individuals not just with knowledge, but with frameworks to interpret the world through reason rather than fear.

Those with less education often lack exposure to diverse perspectives or abstract reasoning, making fear a more influential motivator. In contrast, the educated are more likely to pause, evaluate, and challenge fear-based appeals.

 

[Woodznutz]

What is meant by an education that will produce better outcomes is a college education, yes. Doesnt mean your life isnt better off by doing a trade over waiting tables. But a degree will help your outcome over trades on average as well.

Here is what i will argue though. People with higher educations are motivated less by fear than those with less education.

Education empowers individuals not just with knowledge, but with frameworks to interpret the world through reason rather than fear.

Those with less education often lack exposure to diverse perspectives or abstract reasoning, making fear a more influential motivator. In contrast, the educated are more likely to pause, evaluate, and challenge fear-based appeals.

That kind of knowledge requires more experience than education. Americans need to be trained before they are 'educated'. Lipstick on a pig is still a pig.

 

[Woodznutz]

HDR's and MRE's (Humanitarian Daily Rations and Meals Ready to Eat) can blanket Gaza* from one end to the other and break the hunger crisis.

*Dropped loose over the population, not on pallets.
An airlift similar to the Berlin Airlift is needed, an armada of planes dropping individual packages of food from low altitude. Repeat as needed.

When information/warning leaflets are airdropped they aren't on pallets as they are intended to reach everyone. The same holds for food distribution. You take the food to the people, you don't bring everyone to one location, that's chaos.

 

[San Souci]

Especially since many people believe that once someone receives their degree, that's the end of their education. Receiving a degree shouldn't be the end of a person's intellectual growth; it should be the beginning.

People can be self-taught, too. My grandfather basically dropped out of school after the 8th grade and became a ranch hand at first before working around sawmills, eventually becoming a manager. My mother still has his collection of books he bought with his own money: Harvard Classics, The World's Greatest Literature, and so on. He had his own library. He read Plato, Aristotle, Dante, Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Hegel - you name it. He's a ******* sawmill guy and he's reading more than most doctors and lawyers.

He wasn't just an intellect, though. He knew machinery. He knew tools. He was handy. You drop him in the middle of the Appalachians and he'd have figured it out.

Sounds like a REAL American

 

[Woodznutz]

No doubt you have heard me go on and on about the condition of our local lakes. The brightest minds in the world are unable to figure out that if you properly harvest the f-cking weeds the lakes will get better.

Unkotare,
When you cut and remove the overgrowth of lake weeds you reduce the fertility of the bottom sediments. Over time the water gets cleaner with fewer nutrients being recycled. Fish do just fine with fewer weeds, just look at those beautiful clear Canadian waters that hold trophy fish.

Not only that but eutrophic lakes such as are found in farm country are a great source of material for composting, which returns the inflows of nutrients captured by lake weeds back to the land. Why the highly educated lake managers can't figure this out is an enduring mystery.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

I support skilled labor.

They Buy Their Jobs. That Is Generic and Limits Growth.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

HDR's and MRE's (Humanitarian Daily Rations and Meals Ready to Eat) can blanket Gaza* from one end to the other and break the hunger crisis.

*Dropped loose over the population, not on pallets.
An airlift similar to the Berlin Airlift is needed, an armada of planes dropping individual packages of food from low altitude. Repeat as needed.

When information/warning leaflets are airdropped they aren't on pallets as they are intended to reach everyone. The same holds for food distribution. You take the food to the people, you don't bring everyone to one location, that's chaos.

Nazislamis Won't Eat Food Given to Them by Infidels

 

[Woodznutz]

Nazislamis Won't Eat Food Given to Them by Infidels

Get Muslims to drop the food, problem solved.

"There are 5,896 self-identified Muslims currently serving in the military, according to the Department of Defense. This is out of a total of 1,313,940 active-duty and 826,106 guard and reserve members, respectively."

 

[initforme]

Newsom raised fast food worker pay to $20/hr. Look what happened.

$20 per hour equates to little. If every ladt fast food place shut its doors nothing lost.

 

[Woodznutz]

$20 per hour equates to little. If every ladt fast food place shut its doors nothing lost.

I would miss my McChicken sandwich.