San Francisco is experiencing a rare bit of warm summer weather, so the Priceonomics writers are busy gallivanting in the sun. Here are five eclectic articles to keep you reading over the long weekend until Karl the Fog drives them back to their desks.
1) Why is college so damn expensive?
When it comes to the increasing cost of college tuition and the amassing of student debt, we’re all boiling frogs. But President Obama’s announcement of a plan to control tuition prices has the press revisiting the issue. On the Washington Post’s Wonkblog, Dylan Matthews takes a data-driven look at tuition prices in a very good, very necessary 10 part series. Start at the top. Read…
Architecture masters candidate Hank thinks that students spend too much time drawing plans they don’t fully understand for imaginary clients. So he bought a schoolbus and redesigned it as a living space. The results are awesome. Take a tour…
3) Meet the Military Forces Gathering on Syria’s Doorstep
As President Obama makes a decision on whether and how to intervene in Syria, here’s a look at all the players with military hardware in the area. Read…
4) How One Man Turns Annoying Cold Calls Into Cash
Tired of calls from telemarketers, Lee Beaumont turned the tables by registering for a premium telephone number and listing it every time a bank or utility company asks for his number online. Now he earns 15 cents a minute from every telemarketer that calls him. Finally telemarketers have to pay for inconveniencing us. Read…
5) Gore Says Bush Wiretapping Could be Impeachable Offense
This 2006 news story from ABC reminds us of the movement to impeach President Bush for wiretapping Americans in the name of national security (without first receiving approval from the FISA court) that made it through a vote in the House of Representatives before dying before the House Judiciary Committee. (It drew on the precedent of President Nixon’s near impeachment.) The cases are not equivalent, but it’s thought provoking in the context of revelations of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs. Read…