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
The problems with income-based repayment
Although you hardly hear anyone talk about it, our country does have an income-based repayment option for federal student loans. Graduates can elect to pay 10% of their discretionary income for 10 years (if in a public service job) or 25 years (if in another kind of job). After that time, their remaining balances are… Continue reading The problems with income-based repayment
Families don’t balance their budgets
A popular right-wing rhetorical trope involves saying that families work hard and sacrifice to balance their budgets, and so should the federal government. The standard line against this point has been to retort that family budget and federal budgets are very different animals. And indeed they are. But the argument that there is a disanalogy… Continue reading Families don’t balance their budgets