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No policy in any realm that will make a problem "disappear." It's a fundamentally unserious stance to bring to a work of analysis. The current conversation is cracking open an intractable problem. This is progress. Some want to stop it in its tracks. nytimes.com/2019/06/25/ups…
The very idea that we could consider debt relief and free college was absurd even 2 years ago, total fringe idea. It's now in the realm of serious policy discussion. Whatever emerges will inevitably be imperfect, but if it resets how we view education, its progress.
If a policy fails to make a problem "disappear" this does not mean the policy is flawed. Is it an improvement on the status quo? Does it make room for continued improvement and adjustment. This is the lens of analysis we should be bringing to any policy discussion.
The quality of analysis among big, influential publications on the debt relief/free college debate is disappointing in its lack of depth and nuance. Ex. Yes, higher income debt holders get more relief in total $'s, but as a % of income it's a huge boost to poorer households.
See @Econ_Marshall on how debt relief is progressive. currentaffairs.org/2019/06/is-stu…
If making problems "disappear" is our threshold for considering policy, then let's just give up doing anything ever. I knew that the Clearasil wasn't going to make my zits disappear (much as I wished for it), but they could get me to a place where I could leave the house.
I look forward to the nation's think tanks refraining from issuing any white paper policy proposals that fall short of making a problem "disappear."
