I'm a big fan of PG's essays, his most recent ones in particular, my only quibble is the treatment of education as a silver bullet. Offer Bill Gates style educ

I'm a big fan of PG's essays, his most recent ones in particular, my only quibble is the treatment of education as a silver bullet. Offer Bill Gates style education to a cross-section of the poorest kids in the country and I don't think you'll get much in the way of improvement. Inequality is as much a result of fragmenting families and the dissolution of social capital as it is new startups. When 80% of kids don't have a dad in the home, live in chaotic places, and face other setbacks, it'll take more than a high-end pedagogy to set things right. Raise taxes and spend more on education if you'd like, but first lets take a minute to see where that actually works.