Bill Gates, Steve Jobs...Scott Walker?? Really??

Walker turns questions about his degree into attacks on higher education

Gov. Scott Walker doesn’t think that having a college degree should impede him on his quest to become president. I for one agree – it’s not necessary to have a degree in order to succeed in this life, though it does often help a great deal.

Still, it shouldn't be the sole determination over whether someone is qualified to hold office. Much like religion, an individual’s level of education shouldn't restrict them one way or another when it comes to which office they want to shoot for.

But Scott Walker makes many assumptions when he defends his not having a college diploma. Among the more absurd, he lists himself among notable non-degree holders such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg.

"I think there's a lot of Americans out there who scratch their head and say, we have people who helped found Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, plenty of other successful businesses, enterprises across this country, did exactly the same sort of thing I did – have an opportunity to start a career, have an opportunity to start a business, senior in college, went out and did it," Walker said.

That’s great and all, but the comparison to Walker and these great minds is laughable.

Gates, Jobs, and Zuckerberg formed billion-dollar companies that are celebrated for their ingenuity, used the world over because they are beneficial to business and personal use alike.

Scott Walker – well, he cut taxes for rich folk, which resulted in a dismal Wisconsin economy when compared to the rest of the nation. In short, his contrast between himself and those other three names doesn’t stack up.

Now we’re faced with a $2.2 billion budget shortfall, a deficit twice the size of his predecessor’s, and deferred debt payments that future Wisconsinites will have to deal with. That’s Walker’s real legacy, and no narrative of his can ever change that.