The New York Times ran a long and very good article on poverty. In it, they quote Education Secretary Arne Duncan: “What I fundamentally believe — and what the president believes,” Duncan told me, “is that the only way to end poverty is through education.” This thinking is the biggest enemy of poverty reduction. Poor… Continue reading The biggest enemy of poverty reduction
Author: Matt Bruenig
What sort of people actually lost jobs during the recession?
A new report from Georgetown researchers details the effect of the recent recession and recovery on jobs, broken up by educational attainment. The New York Times and the Washington Post have coverage. Relying on Census data, the researchers figure out how many jobs were lost or gained during the recession and recovery for individuals with… Continue reading What sort of people actually lost jobs during the recession?
Paul Ryan’s plan in brief
I have been keeping my eye open for the best brief summary of Ryan’s budget plan. After going through dozens of posts with a combined thousands of graphs, I have settled on this piece from Paul Krugman. An excerpt: Ryan basically proposes three big things: slashing Medicaid, cutting taxes on corporations and high-income people, and… Continue reading Paul Ryan’s plan in brief
College is not the solution
Having a college degree delivers relative economic advantages. In most cases, job applicants with college degrees will receive more consideration and priority than those without them. Consequently, college degree holders capture more of the limited stock of good jobs than their non-degreed peers, and therefore receive higher compensation. Problematically, many individuals — upon observing that… Continue reading College is not the solution
Another interesting GOP class divide
Pew is out with an opinion survey about Medicare. Among others things, Pew asked people whether deficit reduction or preserving Medicare and Social Security benefits should have the higher priority. Republicans answer that question very differently depending on their income level: Only Republicans making over $75k per year think deficit reduction should have the higher… Continue reading Another interesting GOP class divide