(04-24-2022 03:38 PM)Fresno Fanatic Wrote:  I think if a conference does or doesn’t FREELY require AAU, that’s their prerogative…fine! This veteran sacrificed for you to do that.

As a socialist that I am, I think it’s stupid and oligarch-ish to say AAU (or non-AAU high research) is any more important to society than the nurse, elementary teacher, burger flipper or street sweeper. That being said, I ain’t saying they should all be paid the same. But they ALL are very important to society and should at least be valued a livable payday, inflation rate be damned! (*ok, maybe not the burger flipper. But they being replaced by kiosks/automation anyway)

But if a conference is worried about their endowment contributions…then, fine! And, F*** off!!!

PS: Sole proprietorships/family businesses should be taxed lower to keep their competitive advantage with corporations. That way they CAN pay their employees more.

I’m certainly not saying that AAU schools are more important. To your point, pandemic has shown that who we deem to be essential workers are very often not the ones who get paid the most. I don’t think that I do more important work than my wife (who is an elementary school teacher) at all - it’s quite the opposite. However, the work that I do has more limited supply compared to demand, so I get paid more. I’m not saying that’s fair - it’s just the reality of a capitalistic society.

Similarly, there could be agricultural developments at Iowa State that would have a whole slew of more impact on the world’s health and food supply than many medical research ventures. However, let’s face it that the demand to get into Harvard (whether undergrad or for graduate research) is way higher than the supply of spots, so that determines where they rank in the academic pecking order. It doesn’t mean that Harvard is more “important” than anyone else, but it’s certainly in much higher demand to attend and/or work with Harvard compared to nearly all other universities and, in turn, Harvard gets top talent that makes it more attractive for getting awarded conpetitive grants.

It’s funny that the same people who belittle participation trophies in athletics often demand them in academics.