Quote:
Originally Posted by Not Bob
I like it when a person I disagree with writes something that (a) makes me think, and (b) contains a great deal of hard truths. So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you this take-down of all of us here from Slate by Reihan Salam, executive editor of the National Review.
The spree or TL;DR on this: the upper middle class makes political and policy decisions that are often Not Good. Also, they say they are Not Rich when they make gobs of money because it's so expensive to live in places like New Canaan. (Just re-read "The Ice Storm" - I miss Paigow. Sniff.) |
I agree with a bunch of his complaints. The restrictions on immigration for foreign doctors is something the AMA pushes heavily that is simply horrendously bad policy but pure upper-middle-class protectionism. The door that opened for physician immigration back after Medicaid/Medicare came in back in the 60s, that subsequently got shut by the AMA's lobbyists, resulted in half my clients coming to the country and was a huge burst of talent and creativity.
But I got complaints of my own about the upper middle class and their narrow pursuit of their self interest and the way they ruin the country. He doesn't go far enough, because of his conservative bent.
My biggest complaint: the upper middle class has decimated unions that are critical to our economic well-being as a country because paying people a fair wage or giving them fair working conditions inconveniences them. The hostility of the fucking Uber-users to protections for working people is a big part of the wage stall that has occurred for most Americans. For the Uber-users, the working class ought to aspire to the salary and benefits structure of a Starbucks barrista.
My second biggest complaint: these people are for the most part lazy and feel incredibly self-entitled. They fill our schools with brats who expect well-paying jobs but aren't hungry to actually do anything, and they fill law firms with the go-along-to-get-along types. Most of them could use a good stint out in the countryside, Maoist cultural revolution style, for a little while (perhaps not quite to the famine state the Chinese took it). Send them all to Cuba and let Castro reeducate them.
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