Dave Ramsey, Mike Rowe Say ‘Work Smart, Not Hard’ is Bad Advice
By Movieguide® Contributor
Dave Ramsey and Mike Rowe recently sat down to discuss why the phrase “Work smart, not hard” is problematic.
Rowe began by explaining how when he was in high school and about to head to college, the guidance counselor told him that hard-working trade jobs were a bad thing. The counselor pushed Rowe to go to expensive universities and minimized his desire to attend a community college to stay out of debt.
“He looked at me, and he shook his head, and he said, ‘You’re wasting your time. Let me show you something,’” the DIRTY JOBS host recalled.
The guidance counselor showed the young Rowe a poster that had a picture of a happy college graduate next to a sad tradesman. “The caption on this thing says ‘Work smart, not hard.’ That was the message my guidance counselor told me, reinforced with a visual aid.”
Rowe explained how to him, the tradesman didn’t look like someone unsuccessful. He looked like a hard worker.
“That guy on the right-hand side of the poster looked an awful lot like my grandfather who built the house I was born in without a blueprint. An electrician, a steam fitter, a pipe fitter, a plumber, my hero. And here he was being essentially epitomized by a loser next to the embodiment of hope, success and academic achievement,” he said.
This kind of mindset has resulted in the tremendous amount of student loan debt that’s prevalent throughout America today.
“$1.7 trillion in student loans is on the books…meanwhile [there are] 10 million open positions, most of which don’t require a 4-year degree,” Rowe explained.
“We’re lending money we don’t have to kids who are never going to be able to pay it back to train them for jobs that don’t exist anymore. Now that’s crazy,” Ramsey chimed in.
Ramsey also explained that higher education is not bad, but people need to consider the facts before deciding if it’s the path for them.
“We are not saying four-year degrees are a bad thing,” he said. “We’re not saying ignorance is a bad thing. We’re not saying education as a concept is a bad thing. When it’s over overpriced and leveraged and people are studying things that are not useful, it is not lifting society.”
Ramsey and Rowe frequently advocate for personal responsibility when it comes to student loans.
For those already in debt, Ramsey suggests “Pay more than the minimum payment, budget, cut back your spending, increase your income and consider refinancing your loans” as steps to escape.
“The push for college came at the expense of every other form of education,” Rowe explained previously. “Shop class was taken out of high school. We have denied millions of kids an opportunity to see what half the workforce looks like.”
His mikeroweWORKS Foundation helps get young people interested in trades again. Movieguide® reported:
The Mike Rowe WORKS Foundation started the “Work Ethic Scholarship” program, which aids 200 students in vocational schools each scholarship cycle…
“Over the last 30 years, America has convinced itself that the best path for the most people is an expensive, four-year degree. Pop culture has glorified the ‘corner office job’ while unintentionally belittling the jobs that helped build the corner office,” Rowe’s foundation reported.
“Our society has devalued any other path to success and happiness,” it added.
“Bit by bit, our culture reaffirms the misguided belief that a career in the skilled trades shouldn’t be desired. And that lack of enthusiasm has reshaped our expectations of a ‘good job’ into something that no longer resembles work.”
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