1 in 4 State Legislators Lack College Degrees

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/fewer_college_graduates_among_state_lawmakers_20110613/?ln

Roughly 25 percent of U.S. legislators at the state level do not possess four-year college degrees, compared with 6 percent at the national level, says a report issued Sunday by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The figure may disturb some, but others find no problem with it. A retired police officer recently elected to the Arkansas state Senate believes “common sense” is more important than a college education. —ARK

The New York Times:

About one in four of the nearly 7,400 elected representatives across the country do not possess a four-year college degree, according to a report released Sunday evening by The Chronicle of Higher Education in Washington. That compares with 6 percent of members of Congress, and 72 percent of adults nationwide, said the report, which is based primarily on the officials’ self-reported biographical information.

More at the link --

[rurallib]

1. Bet a higher percentage lack common sense

I know a couple that probably couldn't find their way out of a bathroom by themselves.
But we keep electing them. (if guessed republicans, you guessed right.)

[Le Taz Hot]

2. Virtually every member of the Congress and Senate

have degrees and have had for decades and look where that's gotten us.

[HereSince1628]

3. I'm not sure that it makes a huge difference...

considering how the influence of corporate money pushes corporate written bills.

[exboyfil]

4. I have a B.S.

a M.S. and an M.B.A. and I don't think you need a 4 year degree to be any sort of elected representative including President. My father never had a degree, and he was a better leader of men than I will ever be. He had specialized knowledge in his industry, and he was well read. He worked up in his industry from cleaning floors to being the third highest person in a large production facility. He would have been an excellent Representative or even Senator.

We need more people like my father and less lawyers and other career politicians. We need folks who have started their own businesses and understand the challenges they faced.

[FiveGoodMen]

5. Don't think that's the cause of our problem.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. So much for the virtues of democracy where ANYONE can serve The People.

It's not the lack of diploma, but the lack of reading and critical thinking that bothers me.

[Obamanaut]

7. We think we want to pick the best, brightest,

most articulate, most highly educated people for the national level. We've been doing this for years, and look at the shitstorm this has gotten us into.



Many additional responses here in an earlier thread-->

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=439&topic_id=1287713

[Larry Ogg]

8. Higher education is double edge sword because...

Educating stupid, as well as evil people, is a recipe for ruining society, it's what collapses empires.

Examples such as Gorge Bush, Sara Palin, the RNC, the DNC, and millions of other highly educated conservatives across the globe who lack not only common sense but also a conscience.

Unfortunately, education can be a respectable facade for people who have serious character disorders, such as narcissism and psychopathy, and these type of people are attracted to political power like stink on shit, and their the kind of people that should never have political power.

I believe that leaders and problem solvers are born, and mother nature doesn't care if someone has a higher education or not, although society benefits enormously when true leaders and problem solvers are educated and promoted.

Tragically, our society uses social adjustments according to wealth to determine who is educated or not, and because of that, we pay a huge price. When idiots inherit fortunes and receive higher education, guess what, their still idiots and education makes them dangerous.

And when these highly educated idiots are elected, they demote intelligent people, including the leaders and problem solvers that make them look bad, and they replace them with fools.

If 75% of our elected leaders have college degrees, then why is our government so fucking complicit with failure, and incompetent when it comes to solving problems?

Knowledge in and of itself is neither good nor evil, but in the wrong hands knowledge can be an evil thing. So the one thing more important than a higher education, is to whom that education is given, and education should not be a priority over or a replacement for conscience.