An English Professor Who Understands Austrian Malinvestment Theory

In this week's Pope Center Clarion Call, Troy Camplin discusses his rather unsatisfactory experience as a Ph.D. who can only obtain adjunct teaching positions. He sees his situation (staying at home with his young children because day care costs more than he'd make by teaching an array of courses) as evidence for the Austrian school's explanation that government actions can distort people's decision-making and lead them into costly mistakes -- such as taking out lots of governmentally backed student loans to get degrees that don't pay off. There are plenty of interesting revelations in this piece, including one where Camplin was told, "Now, we aren't saying that you should dumb down your course...." when that was just what the administrators wanted him to do.