The article argues that current market borrowing costs are rising independently of the Federal Reserve's policy stance, challenging the assumption that the Fed controls all rates. Evidence shows significant increases in key rates—such as 2-year Treasuries and mortgages—even while the effective federal funds rate remains steady. This divergence occurs because market rates reflect complex factors like inflation expectations, credit risk, and geopolitical volatility, which are outside the central bank's direct control. Policymakers should therefore recognize that sustainable rate moderation requires credible disinflation and disciplined government budgets, rather than relying solely on Fed intervention.
New NAEP Results: More Evidence That the Status Quo Isn’t Working
English Summary
The latest NAEP results show that while 9-year-olds made modest gains, older students remain significantly below historical performance levels, with reading unchanged since 1971 and math only slightly improved since 1973. Despite tripling per-student spending since 1970 (now exceeding $20,000 annually), decades of centralized reforms have failed to produce improvements, indicating a fundamental accountability problem in the government monopoly system. The article argues that parental choice would create stronger incentives for school improvement than bureaucratic oversight, as families could leave underperforming schools with their funding. These persistent failures suggest that educational freedom and expanded school choice are necessary complements to address systemic underperformance.
中文摘要
最新的全國教育進度評估(NAEP)結果表明，雖然9歲兒童取得適度進展，但年長的學生仍遠低於歷史表現水平，閱讀能力自1971年以來保持停滯，數學自1973年以來僅略有改善。儘管自1970年以來人均教育支出增加了三倍（目前超過每年20,000美元），但數十年的集中式改革未能產生實質改善，反映出政府教育壟斷體制中存在根本的問責缺陷。該文章主張家長選擇權將比官僚監督為學校改善創造更強的激勵機制，因為家庭可以根據教育經費流向而離開表現不佳的學校。這些長期的失敗表明，教育自由和擴大學校選擇權是必要的補充措施，以解決系統性表現不足的問題。
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