Three recent short pieces of mine:
“America’s struggling lower half,” Roosevelt Institute
“Five myths about the middle class,” Washington Post
“How to make sure a growing U.S. economy helps the poor,” Scholars Strategy Network
Four longer ones not by me:
From Parents to Children, edited by John Ermisch, Markus Jantti, and Tim Smeeding
“Inequality of Income and Consumption,” by Jonathan Fisher, David Johnson, and Tim Smeeding
Affluence and Influence, by Martin Gilens (more here)
“Prosperity Economics,” by Jacob Hacker and John Loewentheil
I looked at the WaPo piece on 5 myths, and didn’t see the words “college” or “tuitiion”
I just got my eldest’s tuition bill, and the idea that I am in the same economic boat as my parents seems absurd; here in the state of MA, state aid to higher ed has gone down a lot recently – I forget but on the order of 30%
I didn’t see in the WaPo piece, but maybe missed it, housing prices, which at least in boston have gone up a lot relative to incomes
I didn’t see that I am now responsible for my own retirement; the stress of that – and the variability in outcomes, as opposed to the low variability with defined benefits – is a huge negative
which leads us to the point that security and piece of mind have very high values; how Professor, do you calculate the value of a defined benefit plan from a peace of mind perspective; the extra worry of a 401K that you have to manage yourself might be a year or two of lesser lifespan, worth a lot..
Maybe, as a college professor, enjoying the still enormous perks and retirment bennies, you don’t see this in your own life (I’m not being rude – it is really hard to see others, I know as professor of econ that is what you try to do , but iti is hard)