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by jacob2484 1751 days ago
Why should tax payers have to pay for many degrees that are worthless (undergraduate + graduate)?
2 comments

So who is going to sit in judgement of which degrees are worthwhile and which are worthless?
Ideally the market should.
The market does not know what is virtuous. It knows what individuals demand among what is offered.
So who's going to sit in judgment of what is virtuous?
Hopefully, informed people. Unfortunately I don't have a definite answer to your question but that does not make "the market" a valid one (maybe it is, though I don't think so because I don't trust people for making decision virtuous for the community through individual ones, there needs to be something more clever and functional).
Well I ask because in my mind it is simple: individuals decide for themselves what is virtuous.

Of course as a side effect this is reflected in the market, as individuals engaging in things they find virtuous are reflected in the market.

If you don't trust people to make decisions for the community, why not just let them all make decisions for themselves and nobody else? That would solve that problem, no?

If you government pays for it someone in Washington would. Ideally (and how it happens today to some extent) this much be determined by market.

PS: Note how many folks on HN are making fun of Gender Studies course. This is a great signal for any young kid not to enter that course.

Worthless in what respect?

Are you indicting the paper or person or other?