MOOC of the day

Check out this $3,675.00 MOOC offered by a company called Barbri, complete with recorded video lectures and everything. Law graduates sign up en masse for it to study for the legal bar exam. Barbri claims to have the highest pass rate of all bar preparation services. Someone should study its attrition rates and related quality… Continue reading MOOC of the day

Argumentation 101

Let’s say I am arguing with a right-winger about implementing a universal basic income (“UBI”). They say to me “I oppose it because 1) it wont actually make the lives of the poor better and 2) I think private charity is the correct institution for this kind of thing.” The right-winger’s reasoning is clear, but… Continue reading Argumentation 101

Why discussions of government benefits are so wrong

Earlier this week, The Heritage Foundation released a report purporting to detail the costs of granting citizenship to undocumented immigrants. This report set off a flurry of wonky debates, with both conservative and liberal commentators criticizing the methodology and assumptions used by the report’s authors. The discussion that sprung up around this report followed the… Continue reading Why discussions of government benefits are so wrong

Policy Shop: College Grads Take Bad Jobs That Once Went to Non-College Workers

New post at Policy Shop. Excerpt: This is not because all of the jobs being created in the wake of the recession are those that require college-degreed workers. In fact, around 44 percent of the job growth last month came in the retail and hospitality/leisure sectors, sectors traditionally open to those without a college education.… Continue reading Policy Shop: College Grads Take Bad Jobs That Once Went to Non-College Workers