One of the most frustrating things about being on the left is the profound number of clowns who situate themselves beside me. We’ve got generational warfare clowns. We’ve got New Age gibberish clowns. We’ve got conspiracy theory clowns. And of course, we’ve got hippie drum circle clowns. I call these, and others, clowns because their… Continue reading Purity leftism
Author: Matt Bruenig
Line-by-line rebuttal of Robert Applebaum’s student debt comments
Robert Applebaum, creator of forgivestudentloandebt.com, has positioned himself as an authority of sorts in the student loan debate. I came upon his editorial in The Hill today, and I was frankly surprised by just how misleading and incorrect much of his argument was. Applebaum first identifies what he believes is the culprit of higher tuition:… Continue reading Line-by-line rebuttal of Robert Applebaum’s student debt comments
Student debt and stimulus
This is really low-hanging fruit, but since I have now seen it a half dozen times, I thought I would quickly address it. Some are arguing that forgiving student loan would be a good stimulus plan: Forgiving student loan debt would have an immediate stimulating effect on the economy. Responsible people who did nothing other… Continue reading Student debt and stimulus
Social Security and confusion about savings
More than anything else, the unique dynamic surrounding money creates confusion in people. Whatever one thinks of Marx generally, his sociological theory of commodity fetishism seems true. In an economy driven by money and commodities, it is easy to forget the actual relationships that underlie production and consumption. For instance, people seem to think that… Continue reading Social Security and confusion about savings
Why do poor kids do worse in school?
For one reason or another, poor kids do worse in school than rich kids. Consider for instance this breakdown of SAT scores divided by parental income: This graph tells us two important things. First, poor kids do indeed do worse on the main college admissions exam. Second, differential enrollment rates in college probably have to… Continue reading Why do poor kids do worse in school?