1. WTF re: housing or “there goes the economy again”

“This decision by the FHFA is almost criminally myopic.”

The government is allowing Frannie Mae Freddie Mac to make loans with 3% down payments. This seems absolutely crazy to me. The nexus of reckless banks, government, and home buyers threatens to sink us yet again. If stuff like this ramps up again, there will be another bubble, crash, and subsequent cuts to state education budgets. If you care about education, you need to care about this.

2. Growing up without your dad

“How might we reconcile the fact that a father’s absence affects high school graduation with the lack of evidence that it affects test scores? The answer appears to be that a father’s absence increases antisocial behavior, such as aggression, rule breaking, delinquency, and illegal drug use. These antisocial behaviors affect high school completion independent of a child’s verbal and math scores.”

3. The mental price of affluence? 

“My first study on upper middle class youth was conducted essentially to look for a comparison group for inner city kids and while doing this comparison we found, much to my surprise, that the so-called “privileged” or “rich” kids were doing much more poorly – again, mostly on substance use, but also on depression and anxiety.”