Recent economic research suggests that colleges siphon off a significant portion of federal education aid rather than lowering costs to students

It's comfortable living in a cocoon -- associating only with those who share your views, reading journalism and watching news that only reinforce them, avoiding those on the other side of the cultural divide.

Liberals have been doing this for a long time. In 1972 the movie critic Pauline Kael said...

The public commonly accepts that public school teachers are "desperately underpaid," in the words of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and that raising teacher pay should be a priority of education reform. But is this true?

Here’s the problem: The president never defines what he means by “fair.” And this is for a simple reason: his definition is simply not recognizable to most Americans.

Several studies have shown that public-sector workers receive higher compensation than their counterparts in the private sector. Although, federal contractors have some of the advantages of private sector workers, in that poor performers can be dismissed and the composition of the contractor workforce altered, it is possible that they are overcompensated just as federal employees are right now.

The Paycheck Fairness Act looks like common sense, but instead of helping women it will hurt all workers. The legislation, built on 30 years of spurious advocacy research, will impose unnecessary and onerous requirements on employers.

We estimate that public-school teachers receive total compensation roughly 50 percent higher than they would likely receive in the private sector.

In an event co-hosted by AEI and the Center for American Progress, Rick Hess and Raegan Miller will discuss their views on what particular changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act will allow it to fulfill its aims without causing educators and local officials legal headaches.