Krugman once again, on his blog, with more interesting data:

Larry Mishel wrote recently about the overselling of education, pointing out that the college wage premium, after rising sharply in the 80s and 90s, has stagnated lately. Indeed. Here's the ratio of earnings for full-time working men with college degrees versus those with high school, from the Census: Source.

In my mind this raises several questions. One is whether emphasizing education — even aside from the fact that the big rise in inequality has taken place among the highly educated — is, in effect, fighting the last war. Another is how we have a decent society if and when even highly educated workers can't command a middle-class income.

I know, it's rushing ahead a bit; but remember, the Luddites weren't the poorest of the poor, they were skilled artisans whose skills had suddenly been devalued by new technology.

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March 5, 2011, 5:08 pm