Michael Bloomberg’s recent attempts to reduce soda sizes and now to prohibit visually displaying cigarettes in stores have generated a great deal of comments on all sides. These are the kinds of basic policies that basically everyone feels comfortable chiming in on, which is fun. One popular view has been that these regulations are paternalistic… Continue reading Individual responsibility and situations
Author: Matt Bruenig
Anti-MOOC advocacy
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
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