SPENGLER: Has The Conservative Elite Really Failed? “There is no truth-telling here: to absolve Americans of their greed, indolence, and cupidity in the great home price bubble of 2008-2006 is the biggest lie of all. Americans caught a ride on a $6 trillion wave of foreign capital inflows, and thought the free money would be there forever. The smartest kids got MBA’s and law degrees instead of learning engineering.” Well, the rewards for learning engineering have declined for decades. The rewards of MBA’s and law degrees have climbed.

UPDATE: A reader emails: “Absolutely true. In addition, engineering careers can more easily be impacted by unpredictable and politically-motivated government actions like Clean Air/EPA regulations, windfall profits taxes and drilling moratoriums.”