<p>Idk man…something is going wrong in Europe. Maybe its not the healthcare system. However, virtually all of Western Europe is being taken over by conservative leaders who basically believe the era of the welfare state is over. So, it would appear Europe is trying to become more like us (Pre-obama).</p>
<p>I think the biggest reason is that after WWII everyone felt that people should work together to create a better world by also caring for others, because they were cared for by their community. The concept of universal health care was created after WWII. It seems like these values are getting lost. I mean I don’t even know by name anyone living on my parents’ street (except my parents) and I won’t even notice if someone goes bankrupt and has to sell their house.</p>
<p>It seems like people are getting more shielded from their surrounding community and they are getting more and more self-centered when it comes to income etc.</p>
<p>Wall street produces nothing?</p>
<p>Who helps distribute debt for Countries? Who helps corporations merge and companies acquire other companies? Who is responsible for lending for businesses and allowing people to leverage? </p>
<p>The bottom line is without wall street, we’d be F’*ed. A more interesting arguement is that if Wall street banks accomplish nothing or are “meaningless,” why the hell are people using their services? Why the hell do countries count on Goldman and Morgan Stanley to sell and structure their debt? People must love giving away billions of dollars freely to Goldman…</p>
<p>We dont run the world. Ph.D’s are human too. If given a choice between developing a cure for global warming or an useless but very very lucrative product, most of the Ph.D’s and Engineers sadly and predicably will chase the $$$. Think of all the engineers who spent their very scarce skills developing videogames, sex robots (gotta love the money loving Japanese engineers and Ph.D’s), and the oh-so-many golf clubs (hmm given the degree of elevation of the 3 iron, i concede that we require fine tuned testing to maximize the sweet spot and…). Stop judging by how you think the world should be ran. You are not the god of this world.</p>
<p>@Eof</p>
<p>Sure there are private hospitals if you can pay for it. But what if you can’t? Poor people get sick too (at HIGHER frequencies). Are you willing to wait 6 month’s for a potentially life saving operation?</p>
<p>I did mention some of the same things you did as useful things that they do. However, there are a lot of things that really aren’t that useful. Also a lot of the math folks are doing the things that are not useful.</p>
<p>In the corporate world you often hire people just to give your own decisions credibility. Management consultants are often hired to just validate the position that you already had. My wife used to work in that field and to her it was often really apparent that management called them just to have a nice piece of paper which you could use to justify your position. I wouldn’t be surprised if this happens in finance too.</p>
<p>Regarding the care. I had cancer and got treatment withing a week of the initial diagnosis. I did not wait 6 months, but I do know that they prioritize patients here based on the potential lifespan. As a kid in the low 20s, I was probably pretty high on the list.</p>
<p>I’m enrolled in LSM, it’s not purely about medicine. From observation many LSMers go the root of securities researchers (specializing in life sciences) at institutions or funds, venture capital, or even PE shops. A sizable portion, maybe 1/3rd take the med school route.</p>
<p>@eof: the value of the financial SERVICES industry is to their clients, not to society as a whole. You could make this argument about any part of business. Essentially, you help the bottom line, which just transfers more money from the pockets of everyone else to that of your client. </p>
<p>The same argument could be made for engineers: they design/facilitate construction of buildings, etc for their client. Do you think anyone else really gets value added out of it? Frankly, it’s an equivalent exchange of money earned from whatever job they do for a certain product. The value added is really only to the client in the end.</p>
<p>In this respect, all fields are similar. That said, my personal prejudice is still that another building is worth more than an another excel model. I’d still go into finance for the money though, I’m sure as heck covering my arse before worrying about others.</p>
<p>@OP: I was more of a science person myself and got in. I personally find a rational perspective to be immensely helpful in business. Admittedly, I did have some business/leadership ec’s though.</p>
<p>“In this respect, all fields are similar. That said, my personal prejudice is still that another building is worth more than an another excel model. I’d still go into finance for the money though, I’m sure as heck covering my arse before worrying about others.”</p>
<p>And this sums up pretty well all the finance people I know.</p>
<p>Yeah after CC, I realized medicine is an effing waste of life. Screw Asian parent propaganda lol. Business ftw :)</p>
<p>this thread is making me seriously reconsider applying to wharton</p>