The documentary film Ivory Tower takes on national debates about higher education and renders them as compelling dramas, stories, and scenes. Andrew Rossi, the film’s talented director, previously used similar techniques to raise probing questions about the future of print journalism in an age of digitalization in his film Page One. Now Rossi asks whether “college is … Continue reading »
student debt
Why Republicans want to tax students and not polluters
A basic economic principle is government ought to tax what we want to discourage, and not tax what we want to encourage. For example, if we want less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, we should tax carbon polluters. On the other hand, if we want more students from lower-income families to be able to afford … Continue reading »
The commencement address that won’t be given
Members of the Class of 2012, As a former secretary of labor and current professor, I feel I owe it to you to tell you the truth about the pieces of parchment you’re picking up today. You’re f*cked. Well, not exactly. But you won’t have it easy. First, you’re going to have a hell of … Continue reading »
Stop starving public universities and shrinking the middle class
Last week Rick Santorum called the President “a snob” for wanting everyone to get a college education (in fact, Obama never actually called for universal college education but only for a year or more of training after high school). Santorum needn’t worry. America is already making it harder for young people of modest means to … Continue reading »