I'm amazed there could be negative reaction to this. Just think of it this way: every year there are literally armies of smart young people, who are fully capable of being top-notch programmers or engineers, who graduate and become lawyers or go to wall street. Many of them spend their time on things that add _negative value_ for the economy. Every single one of those people who goes into engineering is an entire career that helps the US economy instead of hurting it.

(Note: if you like, read "western capitalist democracy economies" instead of "US economy").