I don’t have any strong opinions on MOOCs one way or another really. On first glance, the idea has appeal to me personally. I learn better on my own at my own pace. I never got anything out of class discussion. Efficiencies of scale seem pretty cool and are capable of delivering much higher quality… Continue reading Anti-MOOC advocacy
Author: Matt Bruenig
Profit margins for high-wage retailers
Ned Resnikoff has a piece today about high wage retailers, this presumably on the heels of the widely-circulated National Journal piece about the same thing. Both pieces point out that there are high-wage retail firms that are profitable and seem to do pretty well. I was curious as to how much more or less profitable… Continue reading Profit margins for high-wage retailers
Down with rentiers
Michael Lind has an interesting piece in Salon advocating for an “Anti-Rentier movement.” A rentier is someone that derives their income from economic rents. The precise definition of an economic rent is politically contentious, but the easiest — albeit somewhat over-simplified — way to think about is this: rents are income derived from owning, not… Continue reading Down with rentiers
Income inequality is very rigid
A Brookings Institute paper about income inequality has been making the rounds, and for good reason. In the paper, the authors draw upon tax data to determine how persistent income inequality is year to year. That is, do folks move up and down the income ladder year to year or do they basically stay where… Continue reading Income inequality is very rigid
The dramatic decline of rapes and sexual assaults
I stumbled upon this post from Angus Johnston about the significant decline in the incidence of rape. He claims that the incidence of rape has declined 88% since 1973. I do not doubt his figures, but the resource he linked to has been moved. In my search, I could not quickly find numbers prior to… Continue reading The dramatic decline of rapes and sexual assaults