Matt Yglesias gets on the crazy train

[Anonymous]

Generally I like his articles, but he seems to be drinking the same controlled choice koolaid as everyone else:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/02/06/public_school_myth_it_s_not_public_if_you_can_t_go.html

[Anonymous]

Matt Yglesias doesn't have kids.

[Anonymous]

Yglesias doesn't appear to be advocating for any education policy. He is stating facts about housing prices and access to publicly funded schools.

He does seem to be arguing for less restrictive zoning policy, which he argues would lead to more SES diverse neighborhoods. This may be true on the margins, but I don't think it would have the impact he's imagining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Matt Yglesias doesn't have kids.

That doesn't mean he isn't right. The problem isn't an educational issue at its core- its a housing and land development issue. It is logical and right (and good for the environment) that kids go to school in their neighborhood. The problem is that neighborhoods are segregated so much by income. And while it may not be totally obvious, much of the opposition to new projects such as the Giant/apartment building on Wisconsin Ave in Cleveland Park is really about keeping newcomers out by any means necessary. The neighbors who fight these types of projects talk about parking, traffic, density, etc. But the reality is that they want to severely restrict the creation of new housing because it pushes up the value of the existing places they own. Restricted supply equals higher cost. That's econ 101.

Think about it- how ridiculous is it that there isn't a building above the Tenleytown library? There was a plan for it, and initial designs. It's across the street from a Metro station, the perfect place to locate new apartments, with tons of retail and services within a block or two, so new residents really wouldn't need a car. The neighbors fought that hard, and won.

The schools side follows the neighborhood issues. I agree with the sentiment that trying to jerry-rig some sort of layer of algorithmic sorting telling you the only place you can send your kid is a bad idea. But it's a bad idea because it won't really deal with the underlying issues, which are way too big for any sort of simple solution, and which are political landmines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yglesias doesn't appear to be advocating for any education policy. He is stating facts about housing prices and access to publicly funded schools.

He does seem to be arguing for less restrictive zoning policy, which he argues would lead to more SES diverse neighborhoods. This may be true on the margins, but I don't think it would have the impact he's imagining.

You are right, the impact would be relatively small in the short run- it's not like there are that many houses/apartments being built in any given year, compared to the number that already exist. It's a 20-30 year partial solution.