David Brooks writes in the New York Times today: “Daniel Kahneman of Princeton University writes about the Focusing Illusion, which holds that “nothing in life is as important as you think it is while you are thinking about it.” He continues: “Education is an important determinant of income — one of the most important — but it is less important than most people think. If everyone had the same education, the inequality of income would be reduced by less than 10 percent. When you focus on education you neglect the myriad of other factors that determine income. The differences of income among people who have the same education are huge.””
On his radio show today, Dennis Prager said: “Maybe you are making the mistake of your life devoting your life to getting your kid into a great expensive college. There’s something else you might want to devote your life to which will insure better income and better other things.”
“The reason people make more money than others is that they have the character traits to work hard, to defer gratification, and thereby make money. Whether they went to any college is irrelevant. In the natural sciences, you have to go to college. You can’t through good character figure out how to perform surgery or to do chemistry or astronomy. But outside of a skill like that, character determines almost everything. Colleges do not build character. They challenge character.”
“Get drunk, get laid, and get an A. That’s the motto of most colleges.”
“The more college education you have, the more likely you are to be on the left.”
Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman has found, however, that being wealthy is often a powerful predictor that people spend less time doing pleasurable things, and more time doing compulsory things and feeling stressed.
People who make less than $20,000 a year, for example, told Kahneman and his colleagues that they spend more than a third of their time in passive leisure — watching television, for example. Those making more than $100,000 spent less than one-fifth of their time in this way — putting their legs up and relaxing. Rich people spent much more time commuting and engaging in activities that were required as opposed to optional. The richest people spent nearly twice as much time as the poorest people in leisure activities that were active, structured and often stressful — shopping, child care and exercise.
Dennis: “You know who does things that have to be done? People with character. Doing shoulds not wants is part of character. You develop your kids’ character, they will make a fine living.”
“I’m in communications. A degree in Communications is utterly worthless. It’s a ripoff by the colleges. You might as well order a BA by mail. That’s how worthless a Communications BA is. I don’t know a human being in my field who got a BA in Communications. It’s a lie. It’s a fraud. They sell you snake oil at college but parents buy it. Almost all of those degrees [in the Social Sciences and the Humanities] will not make you more money.”
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 Radio Show
20110330 – 01 Education Is a Panacea
Prager H1: The President wants us to cut our dependence on foreign oil by a third in 10 years. He thinks it’s great if Brazil drills for oil, but not the US. Does this make sense to anyone?… If everybody got the exact same education would incomes be equal? That’s the liberal view. But there’s no evidence that this would be true. Character and commitment to hard work are much more determinative.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 Radio Show
20110330 – 02 Male/Female Hour: Hiding Things
Prager H2: What do husbands hide from their wives and what do wives hide from their husbands – actions and/or feelings. Callers confess. Best of Prager Hour. Originally broadcast on July 8, 2009.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 Radio Show
20110330 – 03 The Fight of Our Lives
Prager H3: Dennis talks to his good friend and fellow talk show host, Bill Bennett. His new book is The Fight of Our Lives: Knowing the Enemy, Speaking the Truth, and Choosing to Win the War Against Radical Islam… President Obama mocks “drill, baby, drill.” His Georgetown University audience laughs at the reference. But why is it funny?
