They Say / I Blog

College and Then What?: Lawrence Mishel and the Higher Education Debate

Higher education is a major issue in current public debate. Should it be accessible for everyone? Why or why not? If not, for whom? How much responsibility should federal and state governments bear for providing higher education? These questions are complicated, difficult, and likely to remain in open debate for a long time. Consider, for example, a series of op-ed essays called “Should College Be for Everyone?” that the New York Times recently published. This piece, written by Lawrence Mishel of the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute, is part of the series, and was published in March 2012.

Read it here: Mishel, "College Is Not Always the Answer"

 

There’s No Place Like the Neighborhood: Tracie McMillan on Applebee's and the American Dream

The slogan of Applebee’s, a restaurant chain with several thousand locations internationally, states, “There’s no place like the neighborhood.” But which neighborhood? Whose neighborhood? Where? Freelance journalist Tracie McMillan worked in the kitchen of an Applebee’s and wrote about her experiences in this neighborhood chain. This excerpt from her book, The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table, was published in Slate in February 2012.

Read it here: McMillan, "The American Way of Eating"