Absent magical accounting techniques, the only way to reduce inequality is to transfer income and wealth from those who have more of it to those who have less of it. There are reasonable disagreements about how best to do that, but one way or another, it has to be done. Despite this reality, armies of… Continue reading Reduce inequality by reducing inequality
Author: Matt Bruenig
Professional degree holders have the highest debt
Recently much was made of total student debt reaching $1 trillion. Although sensational, the number is not terribly meaningful unless it is accompanied by information about how many borrowers there are, what the median debt total is, how the debt is distributed, and so on. I’ve gone over that before; so I wont repeat it… Continue reading Professional degree holders have the highest debt
Do not double student loan rates
All education financing systems try to solve the same problem: students need education before they can make the money necessary to finance it. The natural solution to that problem is to let students get the education first and then pay for it later. This is true of college education just as much as it is… Continue reading Do not double student loan rates
A case for equal pay and universal day care
Recently Hilary Rosen questioned Ann Romney’s wisdom on the economy’s effect on women, claiming that Ann Romney had never worked a day in her life. Ann then quipped back via twitter that she worked very hard raising her five boys. Then all hell broke lose in the bored media and blogosphere. Eventually, people pulled up… Continue reading A case for equal pay and universal day care
Balance sheet accounting for student debt
As I wrote previously, student debt is generally an overblown issue. Students, as a class, are a relatively affluent bunch and are set to make, at the median, an extra $1 million over the course of their lifetimes. Like most groups, students would like society to give them more money, but to present that desire… Continue reading Balance sheet accounting for student debt