Race to the Top Collides with Race to Nowhere
The most horrific part of the film "Race to Nowhere" is the heartbreaking thought that one young California girl's story could be the story of any kid. In "Race to Nowhere," director Vicki Abeles chronicles the "Dark Side of America's Achievement Culture" through the perspective of high school, middle school and even elementary school kids who feel pressured to succeed -- which translates as getting straight A's -- so they can to get into the best college around. The film shows a guidance counselor who is dismayed at the sight of parents using flashcards with their infants "when they're ...
Top Financial Stories of 2010: Foreclosures, Financial Reform, Bailouts
The ongoing recession and sustained high unemployment have pushed aside the near-collapse of the financial sector as a front-burner worry for Americans. And yet, developments in the financial world are still creating uncertainty and trouble for the world economy. Looking back, here are the five most important -- in some cases troubling -- financial stories of 2010. 1. Foreclosure Fiasco: Robo-Signers, Break-Ins, and the Continuing Housing Slump The foreclosure debacle dominated the financial news last fall with reports of "robo-signings" by employees who approved foreclosures without even ...
Jimmy Carter: A Loyal Following Turns Out for His New Book
Love 'em or hate 'em we can't get enough of our presidents. This goes for a president who held office for more than 12 years, one who held the office for less than a month, one who was never elected at all, or, in today's case, one who is a much better former president. The latter accolade belongs to James Earl Carter, or Jimmy Carter as he prefers to be known, who arrived at Politics and Prose, Washington's famed independent bookstore, shortly before noon Tuesday to sign copies of his latest book, "White House Diary." The crowd was smaller than expected. Fewer than 100 people waited in ...
There's No Shortage of People Who Need Help This Thanksgiving
As Americans prepare to sit down for their Thanksgiving meal, plenty of them will wonder what they have to be thankful for. America is one of the richest countries in the world, and that's something to take pride in. But could any American be anything but ashamed that one out of seven Americans lives in poverty, or 44 million citizens are hungry at one time or another every year, or that the number of food stamp users rose to 41.8 million in July, marking the 20th straight month of record participation? One out of four unemployed workers is now officially classified as "long-term ...
Football Injuries Are Just Part of the Game
Whether you're a football widow, a football fanatic or a football know-nothing, you must have heard about the traumatic injuries recently sustained on the gridiron by college and pro players alike: A Rutgers player was paralyzed after colliding helmet-first into his opponent on a kick-off return, while four NFL players were knocked out of their games after particularly aggressive hits. Despite these brutal injuries, the game goes on --- from the pros down through college, high school and to the Pop Warner league. The inherent danger in the game is never far from my mind every time my son ...
Could Foreclosure Fiasco Harm the Recovery? You Can Bet the House on It.
Halloween is still 10 days off, but the housing market has been rocked by horror stories for weeks: tales of mortgage servicers who rubber-stamped documents approving foreclosure without reading them, robo-signers who handled 10,000 cases a month, affidavits that were signed and backdated with no notary present, homeowners who had been evicted from their homes and are now breaking back in, electronic mortgage registration systems that didn't keep track of who owned the mortgage notes, law firms that acted as foreclosure mills, and judges who have threatened to charge loan servicers with fraud ...
'Freakonomics': Film Puts Economics (and Sumo Wrestling!) in a New Light
It's hard to make a great movie about the dismal science of economics. In fact, I can think of just one, "A Beautiful Mind," which told the story of the Nobel Prize-winning economist John Nash's struggle with paranoia and won the Academy Award for best picture in 2001. To the short list of pretty good movies about economics, we can add "Freakonomics." A collaborative effort by half a dozen filmmakers based on the book by economist Steven D. Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner, the documentary transforms four tales of freaky economic behavior into a compelling and enlightening story of ...
Suspects in Clementi Suicide Should Be Treated as Adults
While reading the Washington Post online Wednesday night, I saw that one of the most read pieces was titled "college student secretly filmed having sex" (the headline did not mention the suicide). I rarely click on these stories, but since I was on the Post's site, I figured that the article had to have some substance. The report said an 18-year-old Rutgers freshman, Tyler Clementi, had committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge apparently after learning that a video of him engaged in a sexual encounter had been posted on the web. His roommate and another 18-year-old Rutgers ...
On Suffrage Anniversary, D.C. Voters Are Still Left Out
Yesterday was a momentous date in history for American democracy: Ninety years ago, on Aug. 26, 1920, the adoption of the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. Yet that enfranchisement of half the American adult population did not end voting injustices completely -- citizens of our nation's capital still do not have voting representation in Congress. Consider this: D.C. residents have fewer voting rights than do citizen residents of Iraq's capital. Although Washington residents pay taxes to fund local services, voters in Sacramento, Boston, and Juneau have a greater say over how the ...
At 75, Social Security Is Showing Its Age
America's Social Security system celebrates its 75th anniversary today. Hurray. Thanks to this program, more than 55 million elderly or disabled Americans (and their dependents) receive an average of $1,070 each month. Yet, for all the retirement security that the program provides, its future looks bleaker than ever. Earlier this month, the trustees for the Social Security Administration reported that the system will not be able to pay full benefits after 2037. Despite the dismal forecast, most politicians steer clear of any serious attempt at reform. It's one of those issues described as ...
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