If colleges are too liberal....

[in venere veritas]

Than why is my economics professor a far-right libertarian?

btw, according to him, child labor is a good thing

[TheMastersNemesis]

1. They Are Economic Child Molesters And Economic Terrorists

The billionaires and millionaires and RW'ers have been to seeding colleges for 40 years now. They are like a plague. They want to put out all Keynesian economists and have ONLY RW "Tinkle Down" or "Supply Side Economics" taught in colleges. In their view they can control the economy for generations.

They know that such economics is a fraud. Yet they insist on it anyway because people like the Kochs know they can rape everyone at will and never be questioned. It is a sinister and pernicious plan. And they are like little Hitlers who do not care if they destroy millions of lives. It is an insane thirst for power.

They are doing exactly what the Nazis did. They are infiltrating and seizing institutions of learning so that they can indoctrinate the next generation of leaders. They viciously attack and undermine anyone not in their fold. It is a scorched earth policy.

[Starry Messenger]

2. Tell him he could be easily replaced by a 16 year old.

I wonder what he'd say to that?

[in venere veritas]

5. Probably use the same

tactic he used when him and I debated the FDA after class one day. Don't let the liberal speak and insert words in my mouth.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. It depends on the department

econ and business trend ... right, even loony right.

[in venere veritas]

4. I have read that before...

but never experienced until the last few weeks. The guy is wacko. He also thinks aboloshing the FDA would be a good idea.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Well it will get worst

the Kochs are now giving grants, with conditions to control tenure. (IIRC a Florida University had this happen recently)

[in venere veritas]

7. I'm sure it will

These colleges will not bite the hand that feeds. This economics class is just one of the many things that has me frustrated with higer education. It feels like they are just massive profit engines supported by the other massive profit engines that we will eventually be handed over to after college.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. And that is one of the complaints of the #Occupy

the profit centers and all that which goes with it.

[in venere veritas]

10. Which is why

occupy is a good thing.

[Zalatix]

15. Tell him to move to a country without a Government inspection "bureaucracy".

Tell him to write back about it.

[phasma ex machina]

9. "Liberal colleges" is a standard issue Republican trope to designed to distract one into voting

against one's own interest.

[in venere veritas]

11. Exactly

[white_wolf]

12. You go to my school too?

Seriously, I was in the same situation last semester. I had to take an econ course and it was pure right-wing propaganda. In his lecture praising outsourcing for it efficiency, I mentioned how it hurt American jobs and his response was "but it keeps prices low at Wal-Mart which is good because you just lost your job." I couldn't respond to that, I was too shocked. I made several posts about him on DU2 last semester. Oh, and here's a tip the word "efficiency" is code for "how can we justify our sociopathy." On the bright side the sociology department is full of liberals and even a few Marxists.

[in venere veritas]

13. I attend a community

college in Oklahoma. Most of the staff is either liberal or moderate(which I like). Also, "eliminating 'wasteful' regulations is code for "lets take away any protection for those damn ungreatful proles in the name of $$$"

[TheMastersNemesis]

17. Outsourcing Is Economic Murder

I worked at DOL and outsourcing should be taxed heavily. I would have told him supports treason and salutes the Chinese flag rather than our own. What he does not tell you is that the massive outsourcing is aiding and abetting the Chinese Communist government. And I would give him a Chinese Flag.

What most Americans do not understand is that this massive outsourcing is allowing the Chinese to build and modernize their military. We have lost the bulk of our manufacturing that allowed us to win WWII. We do not make many of our most crucial microchips anymore. And many of those microchips are necessary for our weapons. Besides that they steal a lot of our technology and use it in their weapons. We would be helpless in a war because they could compromise our military.

Outsourcing is more than just about toys at Walmart. It has destroyed millions of lives in the US since Reagan and particularly since NAFTA which was a Bill Clinton Blunder. So was most favored nation status.

I would have to him to go fuck himself in just those words. That he is antiAmerican and procommunist. I would have viciously ripped him a new asshole verbally. If I could tell your generation what "tinkle down" economics has done to you you would be just furious. IT IS ALL BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!

I was at DOL for 24 years and the GOP, big business and Reagan committed treason. We will face the "sleeping dragon" that wlll awaken and one of your offspring may end up dying in a war against the Chinese some day. I have had to witness the RW economic model crush the labor market over the last 32 years.

If we do not get a handle on outsourcing THERE IS NO VIABLE economic future for anyone under 50. We are all vulnerable.

[tech3149]

14. You need to read the Powell Memo

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate_accountability/powell_memo_lewis.html

Just to summarize, he was a right wing idealog whose memo instructs the power elite how to build a permanent conservative power structure.
Here's a bit of a summary as pertains to education.

"Most notable about these institutions was their focus on education, shifting values, and movement-building -- a focus we share, though usually with contrasting goals. One of our great frustrations is that "progressive" foundations and funders have failed to learn from the success of these corporate institutions and decline to fund the Democracy Movement that we and a number of similarly-focused organizations are attempting to build. Instead, they overwhelmingly focus on damage control, band-aids and short-term results which provide little hope of the systemic change we so desperately need to reverse the trend of growing corporate dominance.

We see depressingly little sign of change. Progressive institutions eagerly embrace tools like the web and e-mail as hopes for turning the nation in a progressive direction. They will not. They are tools that can and must be used to raise funds and mobilize people more effectively (and we rely on them heavily), but tools and tactics are no substitute for long-term vision, strategy and patient nurturing of movement-building."

It should be on the must read list for any progressive/liberal thinker.

[JSnuffy]

16. One teacher doesn't make a trend...

Do you see similar leanings from the vast majority of your professors?

[TheMastersNemesis]

19. That Is Just One College

One teacher does not make a trend for sure. The problem is how many colleges have how many RW "Tinkle Downers". Even with Obama we are still practicing "supply side" economics at the national level. And there are still many RW teachers and economists out there. The vast bulk of our CEO's believe in that kind of economics and still believe that outsourcing ALL of our manufacturing is the way to go.

I cannot really explain in this forum why this model is so destructive to a person's economic well being. The economic plan that the RW loves so much is super sophisticated and it has been deftly sold for 30 years. The public has been largely duped. What your generation is not being told is that to remain competitive with the global economy you will have to be in "wage parity" with the rest of the planet. NO American worker can compete with a country where wages are as little as $1 a day.

There is a lot more to what is going on in the labor market. There are many tentacles to this economic policy. The RW pushes this model and billionaires are behind the RW because "tinkle down" guarantees a continued explosion of super extreme wealth for a handful of these folks. The 1%. And you are their economic cannon fodder. As long as they can squeeze the younger generation and the rest of us like a grape they are ecstatically happy.

Without consistent and growing income over a long period of a career. Without any job security and longevity very very few workers ever survive at a decent level. "Continuity of employment and continuity of a living wage income" is vital to every worker.

[Capitalocracy]

18. Don't let him know you're a lib.

Because if he figures it out, you're going to have to fake a Randian epiphany to pass his damn class.

[HughBeaumont]

20. Small wonder why I'll never go back to school for business or economics.

I'm starting to hear this a lot in the past 5-10 years - that any notion of Keynesianism is being scrapped in favor of Uncle Milty/Uncle Marty's brand of Neocon crapcake Reaganomics in Economics and business classes. It's no wonder that most people who I've talked that were business/econ majors sound like Paulbots and/or Reaganites and it's galling what they accept. I have almost nothing in common politically with anyone I work with.

I don't care how revered it is, I refuse to accept a fairy tale pile of hogwash that's failed 95% of America for 30 years as fact.

[JHB]

26. It appears the Chicago Soviet of Economics went on a purge

[La Lioness Priyanka]

21. your professor is a horse's ass.

[in venere veritas]

23. Your insulting a horse's ass :P

[laundry_queen]

22. Sick.

I'm in school right now (yes, business) and I took an econ class a couple of terms ago. It *leaned* right for quite a few subjects, but was more balanced than I thought it would be. I'm taking corporate finance right now and it's even MORE balanced. Then again, I'm in Canada, maybe that makes a difference. OUR economic model prevented many banks from collapsing so now our textbooks have plenty of the whole '2008 crash - lessons to be learned' articles in them. A bit of looking down on the US system in our texts as well. Interesting the difference. None of my instructors have been right wing and most of my classes have been in business, finance or accounting.

[in venere veritas]

24. Thats what I crave is balance

I want to hear both sides. But instead I hear absolutely nothing about keynesian economics. I'm fed libertarian economics every class period.

So is Canada as nice as I hear? :]

[laundry_queen]

28. Well, obviously I think so

LOL. I don't think you could pay me enough to move south, even as obsessed with US politics as I am. I wish my friends south of the border had everything that I do...healthcare, jobs, education, etc.

So, we learned a bit about keynesian economics, there was even an article in my econ text about the researchers who found that downsizing companies in the face of a recession was exactly the wrong thing to do. There was a bit in there as well about companies contributing to the total social benefit, instead of concentrating simply on the maximization of profit to the detriment of societal needs. Most of my course was online and discussion was a huge component of our grade and there were quite a few of us lefties there, so it made for really interesting discussion. I think if I had to sit through a libertarian-leaning class, I'd have spent the entire time heaving. As it was, I had to come here to vent on our chapter about price controls, it was so amazingly slanted. So, you won't be the first (or the last) to vent here about it.

[in venere veritas]

29. Well I'm glad someone understands my need to vent :]

Also, unrelated to economics, but what kind of quality does the Canadian health system provide?

[laundry_queen]

30. Well, having never been in an American hospital

I can't do a direct comparison. I can only tell you what I've seen on tv when watching shows like "A baby story" on TLC. Basically - the quality is the same. We have access to all the same tests and equipment that an American hospital does. Rumors about long waiting lists are way overblown - I only have ever had 1 relative on a waiting list for surgery and that was simply because he required a really intricate surgery that only a few doctors in the whole world perform. Everyone else got their surgeries right away (within a month). I even had my gallbladder out 3 weeks after my first attack. My brother recently had a double hernia repair. No waiting lists. Well equipped rooms. I've had 4 babies, 3 of those were c-sections and I was never sent home before I felt like I needed to be. I stayed 4 days with my 3 c-sections and 12 hours for my vaginal birth (by choice, after a c-section, recovery for that felt like nothing, lol). When my newborn after my normal birth got jaundiced, we were re-admitted so she could be under the bilirubin lights and I got a bed too, right beside her, even though we were no longer technically maternity patients because I had left early. That same baby eventually needed surgery for bilateral trigger thumbs and from the time we discovered the thumb issue to when she got an appointment with a surgeon for evaluation was 2 weeks, and then it was another 3 weeks till surgery. And we were in a really remote area! We did have to travel for the surgery....My dad had a hip replacement and my XFIL had double knee replacements and the wait was weeks, not months.

Anyhow, I'd say the quality is very comparable. I can see my family physician usually within a day or so for a non-emergent issue and usually the same day. I never wait more than 5 minutes in the waiting room. The only thing I hate is the ER waits, but I believe they are comparable to you guys in the US anyhow (the longest I've waited EVER was 6 hours. Usually it's a 1-2 hour wait, depending on what it is. When my daughter split her head open and needed stitches, we only waited 20 min).

Plus, everything I've just told you, the ER visits, the births, the surgeries, the family doctor visits - all free. In my province I don't even have any provincial premiums like other provinces. I'd never want the US system and I don't think you can find any sane Canadians (note that I said sane and that means Kevin O'Leary is excluded) that would prefer the US system. We voted the guy that created our system the 'Greatest Canadian'. I think it's something us Canadians just might go to war over, LOL. We value our system highly.

[in venere veritas]

32. If only the US had a system like that

Health care is a human right, and the very fact that "the greatest country in the world" can't provide all of its citizens with health care is absolutely ridiculous. The wealth is there. The resources are there. There just isn't any reasonable excuse.

[RZM]

25. That's only one professor

You need a lot more than that if you want to talk about a trend.

[JHB]

27. Paul Krugman has noted the same trend in his blog...

..."freshwater" economists who don't even understand the basics of his arguments because they were never taught the basics of Keynesianism. It was declared obsolete, and pretty much dropped.

The vaunted champions of free market economics have acted like Soviet Science declaring Lysenkoism true because it fit Party doctrine.

[madinmaryland]

31. Economics professors tend to be that way. That whole free market crap, with no oversight.