Is Mike Rowe a total fraud and grifter?

[Release The Hounds]

He seems almost as bad as the Kardashians and Palins at times. Sure he might talk a good game now and then, but his actions say otherwise. And the last few years he seems to have gone almost full Teabagger. His latest nonsense:
https://www.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe/posts/1097218143621661:0

Mr. "I try not to be political" is once again as he completely misses the point of Senator Sanders' tweet.

But I don't know. Maybe I'm just as guilty and missing Rowe's point. But his response for some reason really pissed me off more than usual.

Is it possible that Senator Sanders doesn’t realize the number of college graduates with criminal records? Is he unaware of the millions of successful tradespeople and entrepreneurs who didn’t pay for a sheepskin, but somehow managed to stay of the clink? Does he not recognize that comments like his will encourage more kids who are better suited for an alternative path to borrow vast sums of money they’ll never be able to pay back in order to pay for a degree that won’t get them a job?[

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

1. He's one of these dudes who takes it personally that trade schools and jobs are dismissed....

....as not being "good" jobs.

He has a point, but he's reading way too much into what Sanders said and I doubt he agrees with much else Bernie says.

[arcane1]

4. The standard strawman is that any given Sanders policy is presented as "solving everything"

Whether it's making college available, reinstating Glass/Steagall, or providing more economic opportunity. You name it, it's been twisted by others into an alleged one-and-only solution.

[Throd]

2. Choosing a path that doesn't include college should not be looked down upon.

[Release The Hounds]

7. I agree.

I'm only the second person ever in my family to go to college (older brother was first), so I am certainly not knocking the non-college career path. It's just that IMHO he is using the tweet to further grandstand to the Right.

[a la izquierda]

19. I have a PhD, my husband never went to college.

He's excellent at his job.
College isn't for everyone, evidenced the countless students who are forced to be there by their parents, who are not interested in learning anything at university, and who would better serve society (and themselves) doing a trade.

[Human101948]

31. It should not be looked down on, but your choices and chances are meager...

The economic analysis finds that Millennial college graduates ages 25 to 321 who are working full time earn more annually—about $17,500 more—than employed young adults holding only a high school diploma. The pay gap was significantly smaller in previous generations.2 College-educated Millennials also are more likely to be employed full time than their less-educated counterparts (89% vs. 82%) and significantly less likely to be unemployed (3.8% vs. 12.2%).

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/02/11/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college/

[Kelvin Mace]

3. I would hazard that there are fewer college grads

Last edited Wed Dec 16, 2015, 04:59 PM - Edit history (1)

with a criminal record than drop outs.

[underpants]

5. When I heard him on Glen Beck's show I knew he had turned

Totally lost credibility for him

[LeftyMom]

6. He has a brand and it's made him a lot of money. His audience is suspicious of education, so he is.

Telling blue collar dudes that they're underappreciated and then selling them stuff is a pretty decent path to celebrity and success, to say nothing to being the foundation of a hell of a lot of political careers.

He gets paid to shill pickup trucks, not college loans.

[XemaSab]

9. He has a perspective and it's made him a lot of money.

He seems like one of the few actual spokespeople for the blue collar in this country.

Who else is doing it?

[MADem]

18. Union reps? They speak for the blue collar workers.

That Rowe guy is a GOP voting one percenter who makes a great deal of money "playing at" being a working man. He's a working man like Joe The Plumber was an actual plumber (he wasn't).

[TipTok]

25. Someone they will listen too...

Union leadership has left a bad taste in many people's mouth over the years. Earned or not, it is there...

That is part of the reason why Rowe is so successful in putting out his message.

[MADem]

30. Really? I don't think that's universally the case. I'd like to hear from

a few more union members before I start throwing the union leadership down to the shop level under the bus.

[TipTok]

33. I don't claim that it is universal...

.... but I suspect there are more with the bad taste than there aren't.

Though I also think that many folks support the concept of unions while at the same time not trusting historical union leadership.

Maybe they just need to rethink their PR.

My $.02....

[Johonny]

24. Exactly. Who went to college... Mike Rowe

[grossproffit]

8. I liked people a lot more prior to social media.

[Dawson Leery]

10. Agreed.

The downside of Social Media is that most are putting their "ID", their negative inner self out there for the world to see.
Come, the 2040's it will be the downfall of the Millenials.

[JI7]

14. even worse is there seems to be pride in that negative side

just look at donald trump

[Johonny]

32. +1

[Wellstone ruled]

11. Mikey is just another well paid

Reality Media Talent. Does a well paid Shtick Routine. It's America,you got to love it. Most Reality Talents tend to be really Conservative. Got mine,screw you.

[mwrguy]

12. he's a gun-humping 1%er

[Chitown Kev]

13. I think that he has a point

a poorly stated point, but a point nevertheless.

a) Some kids don't fit into a traditional 4-year school

b) Some DON'T want to fit in, are equally good with their hands as well as their brains and like the "handy-work"...esp. if it pays good.

And if tradespeople and entrepreneurs want some "book learnin" in their spare time, there are options for that. Hell, I am college educated and I wish that I had studied a trade (cooking would be my preference...and I know some super-smart chefs).

[Amishman]

16. He has a decent point once you wash the tea stains off it

Occasionally he puts forth some pure drivel but often he has a decent point decorated with teabags.

This is one of them, our education system does direct many people towards college who would be better served going to a trade school instead.

My main beef with him is that he goes way too hard into the whole 'if you aren't a success its just because you didn't work hard enough' shtick.

[kcr]

21. The problem is those well paying jobs are disappearing

It's not as easy to find them, so the pressure to go to college is much greater. It's a root of the problem. I agree that not everyone should have to be on the exact same track. Not everyone can or wants to be. But the opportunities should be there for everyone all tracks. I believe college should more attainable and I think that's really what college for everyone is all about. No one getting priced out of the education they want and need, or pushed out out of that job market once they attain their educational goals. I also agree with bringing back the trade schools, but that has to go along with shoring up the trade job market as well. It's a huge problem and no easy fix without the political will in this country.

[Ford F-150]

15. Kind of hard to argue with this...

It’s a cautionary tale as predictable as it is false. But now, as people are slowly starting to understand the obscenity of 1.3 trillion dollars in student loans, along with the abundance of opportunity for those with the proper training, it seems the proponents of “college for all” need something even more frightening than the prospect of a career in the trades to frighten the next class into signing on the dotted line. According to Senator Sanders, that “something,” is a path to jail.

[Lee-Lee]

17. He has a foundation that gives trade school scholarships to those who can't afford to go

So I can't classify him as a fraud or grifter.

[Brickbat]

20. It's amazing how much he can say about the trades and how great they are without ever mentioning

unions.

[kcr]

22. Yes, and as long as that's ignored the problem is so much harder to fix

Like I just said in another comment, the root of the problems is shrinking job opportunity, which is why the pressure for college is higher. Rowe's heart is in the right place, but his political ideology is getting in the way.

[Brickbat]

23. Hee, I said the same thing in the other thread:

The problem with Mike Rowe is that he's often right, but by trying to ignore the political forces that manipulate the economy, his message is diluted. It's true, we do push too many people into college who probably shouldn't go. But he doesn't address the deliberate wrecking of middle-class blue-collar jobs, the role of unions in making the remaining jobs livable ones, or the degree-ification of entry-level and administrative white-collar jobs that makes college degrees necessary.

[TipTok]

26. I think that he is more of an individually based merit guy...

Example: A welder with the right qualifications, certifications and skills, who is willing to travel, can write his own ticket without relying on a union to raise everyone at the same time.

[Brickbat]

27. He is, very much so.

But that welder's pay is going to be influenced by union rates, whether s/he knows it or not. There are very few actual instances of people "writing their own tickets."

[Paladin]

28. Rowe has gone over to the education-hating Dark Side. He's one step above Limbaugh, now. (nt)

[valerief]

29. Never heard of Mike Rowe. Had to google him.

How influential can he be?

[Yavin4]

34. I'm sorry, but I'm with Mike on this.

Big academia has ripped off more families than the big banks, and they do it every day. They charge a ridiculous amount for an education that you can get at a library or now on the internet.

Sanders' proposal of "free" college is simply not a good idea. I do agree that folks need to continue education after high school whether it's academia or trade, but the government should not be in the business of giving away huge tax dollars to big academia.

[SoCalDem]

35. Just a former QVC host who fell into a sweet deal

pretending to do hard work for big bucks and spouting off like the expert he ISN'T..

just another (non) reality show guy

QVC funnies

[HughBeaumont]

36. I find it funny that he appeared at a Romney event in Ohio to talk about trades.

At a Romney event. In front of people who voted to send those sorts of jobs to cheaper climates and lose zero sleep/see no disconnect about it.

So, if Mike claims to be "non partisan" and "non-political", then why is he appearing at an event with a personified Nuclear Weapon of Jobs, particularly blue collar jobs?