April 2006 - Logical Choices and False Edens

By Anthony J. Lockwood

The torque in the decision-making engine of a generally capable boss of mine twisted bizarrely every so often to disastrous effects. You see, he would launch into some scheme well armed with a sort of rock-solid logic based on the most illogical footings imaginable. I never knew how to react when these fits arose, so I mostly hid in my work. But one time the events were so far around the bend that my co-workers elected me to wrest an explanation from our boss.

Backdrop: We live in a dinky town. Each week, the local papers come out and we check the police logs to see who got arrested for being stupid. Said police log is right next to the foreclosure notices. One day, the boss’s house, complete with photo, is listed for auction. Thus, Lockwood the inquisitor.

So, I go to the boss and in my best Father Flanagan voice urge a full confession. The boss, smiling wistfully, explains that six months prior he stopped paying the mortgage to dramatically increase personal cash flow. It worked. The extra greenbacks enabled a number of once-too-dear purchases and much partying. The boss then resumed paying bills, thinking all would be well. But he forgot about the fine print describing defaults. Losing the house to house those purchases was an untidy,  troubling, and frightening consequence. With my eyes blinking furiously,  I backed out of there 1-2-3.

I thought of this after reading a number of e-mails we received in response to the commentary “Fading Numbers of Students Threaten Technology Leadership” by Maplesoft’s Jim Cooper (February DE,  click here).

Your e-mails split into two camps: “Amen Brother” and “Logical” as in “not going into engineering is a logical economic life choice since we don’t pay engineers well enough.” I’m in the Amen Brother camp. Here’s why:

Any capable student choosing to forego an engineering or science career based on the lifetime of pay he or she is likely to earn is making a logical life choice. I agree. You gotta eat, and I have no quibble with the individual student. I have every quibble with where and how we assign value.

Take (maybe) retired pitcher Roger Clemens. He was paid $18 million last year. Divide that by his 185 strikeouts. He makes a third more per strikeout than the average American household does in a year.

“The Rocket” works hard at his trade, and I’m not knocking him, just us. I just want to know why we, as a society, find a strikeout artist more deserving of big bucks than teachers, doctors, or engineers? Why have we made it a logical choice for our kids to go into investment banking or political lobbying, and not into the bedrock careers upon which we can build our nation’s future? Why do we talk so wistfully of our kids and underfund and undermine their schools and their future?

Students are making logical life choices opting for the dinero and not for what the nation needs (yet doesn’t value). We taught them what’s really valuable: Get yours. Don’t care about what or who comes after you’re gone.

My old boss made a “logical” choice. That false Eden’s crash surprised him. We’re building a similar fool’s paradise for our future. But, so what? I got mine. I’ll be long gone when the crash comes.

Thanks, Pal —Lockwood

Lockwood is Anthony J. Lockwood is the Editorial Director,  janitor, and resident crank at DE Magazine and Helmers Publishing. Should you be so moved, you can send this joker an e-mail by clicking here. Please reference “Diatribes, April 2006” in your message.