An “Out Of Touch” Wharton Business Student Thinks The Average Worker Makes $800,000 In The US

  • The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton is genuinely thought to be one of the finest business schools in the US, but one seemingly simple question stumped its students.
  • Nina Strohminger, a professor of legal studies and business ethics, explained that she had asked students what the average American earns per year. Most failed miserably.
  • According to the Social Security Administration, the actual numbers for the average U.S. annual wage last year was $53,383, and the median wage was $34,612.

Steve Goldstein from MarketWatch writes:

“The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton is genuinely regarded as one of the finest business schools in the country — U.S. News & World Report ranks it second, behind only Stanford.

But these aspiring giants of the business world could use an education in real-world economics.

Nina Strohminger, a professor of legal studies and business ethics, tweeted that she had asked students what the average American makes. They did not do well.

The tweet triggered a firestorm of responses, mostly along the lines that these students were out of touch.

One Twitter user linked to New York Times data, showing the median family income of a student from Penn is $195,500. And that’s for the university as a whole.

As for the real number, the Social Security Administration put the average U.S. annual wage last year at $53,383, and the median wage at $34,612.

In the fourth quarter, the Labor Department said median weekly earnings were $1,010, or an annualized $52,520…”

See full story here.



Categories: Business, Economy, Education, Labor, Politics, Society, WTF?

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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