Evan Soltas asked a question on Twitter regarding whether in-kind benefits (things like government-provided health insurance and food stamps) are better than cash benefits. There are all sorts of arguments about this. Konczal even tried his hand a general theory of this question a while back, which met mixed reception. I think this question tends… Continue reading A way to think about in-kind benefits and cash transfers
Author: Matt Bruenig
On process and scarcity
Occasionally I’ve weighed in here on the process versus substance debate, generally on the side of substance. My partiality towards substance is not based simply on some assessment that it is more important than process. It’s more that, after years of effort trying to work on theories of process, it became clear that process was… Continue reading On process and scarcity
The response to the McDonalds budget
So McDonalds put out a sample budget for low-income people to live on. The budget has been relentlessly mocked since then. In response to that mocking, Timothy B. Lee authored a post today over at Wonkblog titled “That McDonald’s budget people are making fun of isn’t cruel. It’s realistic.” Lee then goes through the budget… Continue reading The response to the McDonalds budget
Policy Shop: Yes, Teach For America is a Political Organization
New post at Policy Shop. Excerpt: In fact, the service organization component of TFA is supposed to help along TFA’s political goals. TFA admittedly recruits college seniors based, at least in part, upon their future leadership potential. The theory is that putting these future leaders through the program will ensure that a chunk of the… Continue reading Policy Shop: Yes, Teach For America is a Political Organization
The plan inclusive counterplan giving education wonks so much trouble
As is obvious from my last week of blog posts, the debate over Oregon’s potential implementation of a Pay It Forward (PIF) scheme is on my mind. Notably, I can’t understand why the anti-PIF education wonks are having so many problems generating good arguments against it. Then it struck me: PIF is a plan inclusive… Continue reading The plan inclusive counterplan giving education wonks so much trouble