Commentary

I remember a time when liberals were the people who used government as a democratic counterweight to the abuses of capitalism, and conservatives were those close to big business who wanted to limit government. Liberals also recognized, with the Framers of the Constitution, that government had to be strong enough to protect the rights of the weak. Conservatives didn't like the power of the state, but were fine with concentrated private power.

IS THE Federal Reserve planning to phase out its unprecedented $85-billion-a-month bond purchase program, which has kept interest rates at historic lows? The stock and bond markets have been gyrating in anticipation of the Fed’s possible moves. And if the Fed does start pulling back, what will be the impact on the still-fragile recovery?

Just as markets over-built housing, mispriced mortgages and bid up prices beyond the real financial capacity of homebuyers, America's colleges and universities have over-expanded and over-priced their product. We are getting an education bubble with dynamics similar to the late housing bubble.

As more and more students find themselves with debts that exceed the salaries offered by the current job market, colleges have expanded beyond the capacity of their markets. Some kind of shakeout is coming. The question is: what kind.

It may seem unthinkable now, but as late as the 1980s, Americans in many states had only one option if they wanted to register to vote: Show up in person at a central registrar's office, which might be open only during restricted business hours and located far from the voter's home. Even in places where voter registration applications could be distributed outside the registrar's office, strict limits often applied -- such as in Indianapolis where groups like the League of Women Voters were allowed to pick up only 25 voter registration applications at a time.