Ben Wilterdink

Over the past few years, concerns about fake news have taken center stage in news outlets across the country. But as technology allows audiences to further segment and ideological echo chambers have become the norm, less attention has been devoted to the increasingly prolific genre of merely misleading news.

The kids are most certainly not alright. And as many of America’s employers are now finding out, this means that many junior employees are not doing so well either. New research details how rates of depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders are drastically rising among America’s youth. Identifying the causes of these troubling trends and acting quickly to reverse them should be a national priority, and fortunately, there are ways to work toward that goal.

South Carolina and Connecticut are among two of the latest states that might soon allow kids more opportunities to step out on their own for some time at the park or a walk to school. Following the example of Utah, Lawmakers in South Carolina and Connecticut are two of the latest states to consider changes in state law to protect parents’ ability to allow their children a bit more independence, without worrying that such allowances will be seen as criminally “neglectful” by local authorities.

Ben Wilterdink, Archbridge Institute Director of Programs, explores how the California Legislature recently missed two opportunities to boost economic mobility in recent post on Medium.

In essay for Quillette Magazine, Archbridge Director of Programs Ben Wilterdink discusses “Race and Economic Opportunity in the United States: An Intergenerational Perspective,” the most recent study from the Equality of Opportunity Project and some of the earliest reactions to the study. Wilterdink highlights several reasons to be skeptical of the most prominent commentary following the study’s release and argues that the best way to improve the status quo is through a mutually respectful dialogue.

Raj Chetty and his team of economists at the Equality of Opportunity Project have released a new report on race and economic mobility, with findings that have everyone talking. Director of Programs Ben Wilterdink discusses its key findings and some reactions from around the web in a post on Medium.