The primary indicator of a high-performing school isn't its budget, but the level of parental engagement. When affluent and influential parents exit public schools, they withdraw their crucial engagement capital, which weakens the entire system far more than the loss of their direct financial contributions would.
Despite their non-profit status, university administrators and faculty act as capitalists focused on increasing compensation while reducing accountability. They leverage artificial scarcity, cheap government-backed credit, and accreditation barriers to raise tuition faster than inflation, effectively exploiting the middle class under a veneer of nobility.
When a single tech sector accounts for a quarter of Super Bowl ads, it historically precedes a major market correction. This pattern was seen with dot-com ads in 2000 and crypto ads in 2022. The current dominance of AI ads suggests a similar AI-centric market downturn is imminent.
Dumping raw investigative files, like the Epstein documents, for public interpretation undermines law enforcement's credibility. The proper output of an investigation should be indictments, not media fodder. This approach turns serious crimes into partisan spectacles, ultimately benefiting the perpetrators by diluting the focus on criminal liability.
Economic analysis debunks the political claim that foreign nations pay for tariffs. In reality, there is a near-complete cost pass-through to American buyers. U.S. consumers ultimately shoulder 96% of the tariff burden through higher prices, while foreign firms absorb only a negligible 4%.
Trump's signature tactic of instigating cultural fights to distract is becoming less effective. Prominent conservatives are now pushing back against manufactured outrage over figures like Bad Bunny and calling out racist dog whistles, signaling that the strategy's power is waning beyond his core base.
The Gini coefficient, a measure of wealth inequality, is 83 in the U.S. today. This places current American society on par with pre-revolutionary France, which had a coefficient between 80 and 85. This stark data point suggests that current economic stratification has reached a level historically associated with major social upheaval.
Sen. John Ossoff's term 'Epstein class' is a brilliant political framing. It allows Democrats to attack a specific culture of ultra-wealthy corruption and impunity without alienating all affluent individuals or donors. It isolates a 'virus' of depravity rather than condemning an entire economic class, making the critique more targeted and effective.
The financial argument against elite K-12 private school is staggering. Instead of paying $70k in annual tuition, investing that sum in an index fund would provide a child with a $4.5 million nest egg by age 35, a financial advantage that far outweighs any potential benefit from the expensive education.
