Wall Street

Elliot Gerson, secretary of the Rhodes trust, points to an interesting trend: In the past thirty or so years, Rhodes Scholars have disproportionately chosen to go into Wall Street careers. He writes:

In the past months, Washington has used its pull over and over to force businessmen to buy into its programs. From cornering banks into accepting TARP money to firing GM’s CEO to insisting that AIG employees return their contractually guaranteed retention bonus—Washington has demanded and businessmen have acquiesced.

A recent article in the New York Times ("Big paycheck or service? Students put to the test") describes a growing trend among elite universities to push students towards careers in public service. This encouragement takes various forms, from the offering of "reflection seminars" with the stated goal of directing students away from corporate jobs, to debt relief for graduates who choose employment in the public sector.