Matt Bruenig – Page 71 – Matt Bruenig Dot Com

Salon: The 1 percent’s Ivy League loophole

Elizabeth Stoker (@e_stoker) and I had a post over at Salon today about tax subsidies for alumni donations used to grease the wheels of legacy admissions. Here is an excerpt: But if this is true, then alumni donations are not donations at all. Rather, they’re implicit transactions: alumni pay universities and receive additional admissions consideration… Continue reading Salon: The 1 percent’s Ivy League loophole

Policy Shop Weekly Digest: The Week of Polanyi

I had 2 posts over at Demos’ Policy Shop this week. Here is a rundown with links: Libertarianism’s Battle With History. Excerpt: But as much as market fanatics tried, they never could succeed in casting the economy as something separate from or above social order. Instead, what we saw (and what we see in developing… Continue reading Policy Shop Weekly Digest: The Week of Polanyi

There is a difference between conventional and chemical weapons

One of the popular memes coming out of this Syria debacle is an assertion that there is no difference between conventional and chemical weapons. I’ve yet to see someone explain what the Just War Theory response on this is (granted I don’t follow this stuff anymore). So I figure I will just take a stab… Continue reading There is a difference between conventional and chemical weapons

Middle-Out Economics Already Producing Serious Policy Confusion

This summer, President Obama gave a speech where he talked about middle-out economics, which is apparently the Democrats response to trickle-down economics. As far as I can tell, Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer coined the phrase. Personally, I don’t like the phrase and when I think hard about what it might mean for policy, my mind actually… Continue reading Middle-Out Economics Already Producing Serious Policy Confusion

Policy Shop Weekly Digest: Income Inequality, Student Debt, Racial Inequality

I had 3 posts over at Demos’ Policy Shop this week. Here is a rundown with links: What Would It Look Like If Income Gains Had Been Shared?. Excerpt: Every income group except the top 20 percent would be better off. Instead of receiving an income $16,900 in 2007, the poorest fifth of families would… Continue reading Policy Shop Weekly Digest: Income Inequality, Student Debt, Racial Inequality