People are not “given As or Fs”. They earn them based on their ability and performance in demonstrating their knowledge of the curriculum. What the left-wing types on this board seem to not understand is that for an economy to be successful, it needs smart, knowledgeable, entrepreneurial people to actually build and run things successfully. Bill Gates should not earn the same as some kid in the mailroom because a kid who organizes the mail does not create as much wealth as someone who founds and manages a multibillion dollar company that employs thousands of people.
Of course, the right-wing Ayn Rand followers don’t seem to understand is that for an economy to be successful, it needs smart, knowledgeable, entrepreneurial people to actually build and run things successfully. If you have vast numbers of people without the basic ability to educate and train themselves due to lack of resources and infrastructure and crippling economic conditions, they will never be able to maximize their potential to contribute to the economy.
I had asked a question a long time ago whether communities, cities, or even entire countries were poor because they were populated by lazy, stupid, shiftless, uneducated violent jerkoffs or if the people become that way from living in poor conditions. It’s really a combination of both and creates a vicious circle of systematic poverty. The opposite holds true as well. As a community becomes more educated and more successful economically, outsiders are more willing to invest in it and add to it’s economic growth.
Detroit is a perfect example. As businesses and opportunity leaves Detroit, so too does most of the talent and brainpower. As the population becomes less educated and less sophisticated, they continue to be swayed into voting for corrupt and incompetent leaders who get elected on populist promises but make the situation worse through self-serving or ill-conceived policies.
