RUEZ RUEZ:
I can get a law degree, get called to the bar and never work a day in my life and be called a lawyer.
I'm an economist. Are you? Who'd know better what makes one an economist? You or I? As Tommy Boy said "You can get a good look at a T-bone steak by jamming your head up a bull's ass, but wouldn't it be easier to take the butcher's word?" A law degree brings a professional designation. An economics degree does not. One becomes an economist by working as an economist. Harper is a politician. That is his occupation. That is his vocation. If he had a degree in psychology, would you say he was a psychologist? If he had a degree in Human Kinetics would you call him an athlete? Or a coroner? My two closest buddies from grad school, Rob and Steve: Rob went to teachers' college and teaches highschool history and economics. Is he an economist or a teacher? Steve sells investments. Is he an economist or a stock broker?