A new study shows that when it comes to jobs, business and the economy, politicians literally are clueless: 80 percent of lawmakers on Capitol Hill have zero business or economic academic background.
A report from the Employment Policies Institute finds that only one in five members of Congress has an academic background in business or economics.
The organization looked at lawmakers' college degrees and found that most of them -- 55.5 percent -- majored in either a government-related field or "humanities." Just over 8 percent majored in economics, while almost 14 percent studied business or accounting.
The numbers raise questions about their ability to tackle tough economic challenges when they return from break early next month. The Obama administration, as well as lawmakers touring their districts, are clamoring for a new approach to the jobs crisis. Meanwhile, a congressional "supercommittee" is set to get to work finding $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade.
Now, it doesn't take a degree to understand a business or economic policy. In fact, many business owners don't necessarily have a degree in than business or economics, but they learn through experience. Politicians on Capitol Hill who have neither an academic background on the subject nor experience running a business is a really bad combination, especially since in Washington they deal in trillions of dollars. Not to mention, the majority of "humanities" and "poltical science or government" professors teaching in our universities are liberals with very little real world experience.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member