The Producers and the Parasites   Column by Bob Wallace.
Exclusive to STR I have expended several thousand brain cells –
which now means I am pretty much out of them – trying to figure
out who are the producers and who are the parasites. Are
firefighters parasites? They don’t produce anything, but they
are necessary. Are the police necessary? They don’t produce
anything, either, but in some cases they are necessary. Even if
both are necessary, the irreducible fact remains: They don’t
produce anything. Do politicians produce anything? Of course
not. They are not just worthless, they’re the most dangerous
parasites that have ever existed. Judges and lawyers? Neither
produces anything, but a proper (i.e., minimum) number of them
are supposed to help society function smoothly. Teachers? Mostly
worthless. They’re supposed to produce educated students. But
what exactly do students learn in 12 years of public
schooling? And then four years of college? And then graduate
school? And a Ph.D.? That’s approximately 20 ye