Are Baby Boomers Bankrupting Their Grandchildren?
That was the proposition being debated on the BBC’s Moral Maze last week. Although this debate centers on the situation in the United Kingdom, this a debate is relevant to United States.
Author: Matthew Clemente
Affirmative Action After Fisher v. the University of Texas
Affirmative Action After Fisher v. the University of Texas
On Monday, the Supreme Court handed down Fisher v. the University of Texas a highly anticipated affirmative action case. In a somewhat anticlimactic decision, the High Court remanded “the case back to the lower court to apply “strict scrutiny” to the University’s admissions policy.” NPR’s Talk of the Nation discussed the future of affirmative action after Fisher.
Supreme Court Curtail Voting Rights Act
Supreme Court Curtail Voting Rights Act
In Shelby County v. Holder, today the Supreme Court struck a key provision of the voting rights act, a provision that required states to get federal permission to change their voting laws.
For more on this historic case, see the SCOTUS blog coverage.
Tires, Tariffs, and Grizz: Oh My!
Tires, Tariffs, and Grizz: Oh My!
NPR’s Planet Money recently ran as story answering the question: “why are tire prices so damn high?” Here is a description of the story:
The price of tires has risen by about 40 percent in the past five years. That’s partly because rubber prices have gone up. But it’s also due to a tariff the U.S. imposed on Chinese tire imports.
As tire prices have risen, more people have been renting tires rather than buying them outright. And renting tires, it turns out, is often a bad deal in the long run.
On today’s show: How a celebrated attempt to help one group of people ended quietly hurting a much larger group. Also on the show: The Grizz.
For more, see our story Why More People Are Renting Tires. And see the paper we mention on the show, U.S. Tire Tariffs: Saving Few Jobs at High Cost.
Why We Are Failing Good Teachers
Why We Are Failing Good Teachers
Last weekend, This American Life ran a story about an award winning teacher who is being forced to quit. It’s a really exasperating story if you care about the state of American education. Here is a description of the segment:
Science teacher Jason Pittman, who teaches pre-school through sixth grade at a school in Fairfax County, Virginia, won a big teaching award this week. In fact, during his ten years teaching, he’s won many, many awards. He loves his job. But this week, he explains to Ira why he’s quitting, even though he doesn’t want to. (6 minutes)