College, Chaos, and Prigozhin
Plus: WTF is happening in Russia, with Alexander Vindman
Recently in The Bulwark:
CHARLIE SYKES: The Furies of Mar-a-Lago
JVL: We Are Living Through a Chaotic Era š
NEXT LEVEL š„: Trump World Goes Ballistic On Kevin McCarthy (w/Joe Perticone) Live at 7pm ET.
You can support The Bulwark by subscribing to Bulwark+ or just by sharing this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
BRENT ORRELL: Yes, College is Still a Good Investment.
ANOTHER GRADUATION SEASON is in the books. Some students have finished high school and are thinking about their next steps while others have just finished college and are wondering if it was worth it. They should rest easy: A new study by Harvard economist David Deming shows that college education remains a worthwhile investment for long-term economic returns.
Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Deming found that college graduates generally earn significantly higher wages throughout their careers compared to those without a degree. The ācollege wage premiumā grows substantially with age and work experience, even when adjusted for cognitive skill levels. Those who have diverse work experiences and higher levels of education see compounding skill and wage growth across their working lifetimes.
š„ PODCASTS AND VIDEOS š§
Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice. Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
CATHY YOUNG: What Comes Next for Prigozhin?
FOLLOWING THE BIZARRE 24-hour armed rebellion launched by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, the hotly debated question both in the West and in the expatriate Russian media remains: āWhat the hell was that?ā
Was the mutiny by the Wagner private military company, which brought tanks, armored vehicles, and anti-aircraft guns to Russian highways and cities, staged by Vladimir Putin for some still-inexplicable reason? (Very unlikely.)
Was Prigozhin, the restaurateur nicknamed āPutinās chefā for his role as the Kremlinās court caterer, out to depose and replace Putin himself? (Also extremely improbable.)
šØOVERTIMEšØ
Happy Wednesday! The Canadian wildfire smoke has made its way back east, thankfully not nearly as bad as last time. My friends and family in the Great Lakes / Midwest are now understanding how bad we had it a few weeks ago. Not great! Luckily, I still have some masks from COVID to go outside. Hereās a map so you can see how good/bad it is where you live.
A free library card, just for youā¦ Is waiting at the OpenLibrary.
Stating the obviousā¦ A Senate report observed that intel agencies failed on January 6, as it was planned in plain sight.
DeSantis is winning!? Not in the polls, but in performative cruelty. Oh, and he wants to eliminate the IRS. Pray tell? The āFairTaxā, perhaps?
360Ā°, no-scopeā¦ Guardians rookie Bo Naylor is gonna be something.
āI tried to take down the MAGA Trump GOP as an independentā¦.ā It didnāt work, writes our friend Chris Vance.
A proffer from Rudy? Norm Eisen thinks that means Jack Smith is considering moving up the food chain re: January 6.
Trump canāt decideā¦ Free the drug dealers orā¦ kill them?
RFK Jr. gives the game awayā¦ Itās about attention. (And ratfucking Biden, obviously.)
Meanwhile, in the āFree State of Floridaā¢āā¦ A DeSantis veto costs the state hundreds of millions of federal dollars.
ā¦and outside D.C. Jailā¦ The Trumpers protesting there are turning on each other. You hate to see it.
The obstacles Ukraine facesā¦ In its counteroffensive against Russia, visualized by the NYT.
Russiaās mutinyā¦ Shows Ukraine can win, argues Nicholas Grossman at The Daily Beast.
King v. Youngkinā¦ Our friends at Protect Democracy have filed suit against Virginia over its lifetime ban on felons voting.
āSocial Media Was Useful For Me, As An Ill, Nerdy Teenagerāā¦ Writes our friend and former colleague Shoshana Weissman at TechDirt.
The liberal dissenters were rightā¦ Argues Ilya Somin on Jones v. Hendrix.
Why AI wonāt steal all the jobsā¦ Robert Tracinski explains at Discourse.
A bunch of Canadian vintage computers have been liberatedā¦ From a barn in Massachusetts.
Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.
