Re: Public Defender Work

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On 11/18/06, Brian wrote:
> Again, they are entitled to a defense, but it is shocking to hear that
> there is a long waiting list of well-educated professionals to defend
> criminals, public urinators, child molesters, killers of the infirm and
> elderly, etc etc. And that being on this list is in fact a coveted
> position to be in. How sad. Speaks volumes about where we have gone as a
> society and an economy.

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I agree. But I'm also under the impression that just about every other field
is the same. That is to say, I'm under the impression that we have a large
oversupply of well-educated and qualified people in just about every field
except that of physician where the number of practitioners is artificially
limited by a shortage of educational facilities relative to the demand of
people who'd like to obtain such education.

Yes, it does speak volumes about our society and our economy. Basically, we
are stuck in what I like to refer to as an "Education Arms Race" where people
try to secure a middle class standard of living by pursuing more and more
advanced degrees, resulting in increasing numbers of people investing
increasing amounts of time and money on eduation, often in vain. I suppose
that this is part of what a first world country suffers as it devolves into
becoming a third world country. The middle class will fight to retain its
status in vain.

In the past, people used to be able to maintain middle class or at least lower
middle class status with the husband working a factory job without his having
a college degree. Today, college degrees and often advanced degrees are
required, both husband and wife need to work, and the college degrees do not
guarantee a career nor job security. Such are the ravages of global labor
arbitrage and the merging of the American economy with the third world's economy.

This is all very bad for lawyers because we need to have a thriving economy
with a healthy middle class and upper middle class in order to have a customer
base. There isn't much money to be made in serving the poor.

[[ OFF-TOPIC RANT OFF ]]