The Debt Load of the 2015 Graduating Class

On May 8, 2015, Jeffrey Sparshott’s article “Congratulations, Class of 2015. You Are the Most Indebted Ever {For Now)” was published in the Wall Street Journal [http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/05/08/congratulations-class-of-2015-youre-the-most-indebted-ever-for-now/]. The article draws on a report produced by Edvisors [https://www.edvisors.com/], a website that provides a broad variety of resources on financial aid, including loans, for prospective and current…

While We Have Been Focused on the Verdict in the Tsarnaev Trial

This past week, an Egyptian court sentenced to death former president Mohammed Morsi, along with 130 other defendants, for their participation in a mass jailbreak and their roles in subsequent attacks on the police and the military that led to the overthrow of the government of Hosni Mubarek. This sentence comes on the heels of…

Chris Christie’s Impact on Public Higher Education in New Jersey

New Jersey Policy Perspective has released a new report that links decreased state support of public higher education and falling wages to increased student-loan debt: “New Jersey students and families continue to have a hard time affording the high cost of a college education, thanks to lackluster state support for public colleges and universities. New…

Michelle Obama’s Commencement Address at Tuskegee University

Mrs. Obama’s commencement address has drawn criticism from the Far Right because she focused on the ways in which she, as First Lady, has been racially caricatured by not just her husband’s political opponents but by even the “mainstream” media. Once again, an attempt to focus much-needed attention on what should be fairly obvious and…

Another Attack on Teacher Unions and “Fair Share”

In a column last week Los Angeles Times op-ed writer Michael Hiltzik (whose work is almost always a must-read) exposed the fraud behind the latest assault on the political activity of teacher unions.  It involves a lawsuit, Bain v. California Teachers Association et. al, which purports to defend the “free speech” rights of its plaintiffs,…