From my Notes App
My Notes app has 1,461 entries. It is where I write down ideas, save random images, and drop links to videos I want to revisit. It is not organized.
From time to time, I get overwhelmed by the notes, the tags, and the feeling that I should spend more time building a better system. But random ideas need a place to land. They do not need structure the moment they arrive.
There is something exciting about scrolling through old notes from random dates. It reminds me of the range of ideas I come across and the ones I thought were worth holding onto.
I am going to keep it messy, because I think that is the point. This newsletter and blog are where the more organized version of my thoughts will live. Notes are messy by design.
Recently, I came across one I wanted to flesh out. It was about a book I once thought I might write.
What Book Would You Write?
Three years ago, someone asked me what I would write about if I ever wrote a book. I jotted down three ideas:
- Conversations with Students — built around mentorship discussions, professional development, growth in college, and the early years of a career.
- A textbook built around my method of teaching economics and financial literacy.
- Economic policies impacting you.
The first two are still in the running. The third, I have let go.
Why I Let It Go
There are two main reasons I moved on from that third book idea.
First, my friend Hoov, Dr. Gary Hoover, has already written an excellent version of that book, and I highly recommend it. I was glad to serve as a peer reviewer, and it is now in print.
Gary A. “Hoov” Hoover is Executive Director of the Murphy Institute, Professor of Economics, and Affiliate Professor of Law at Tulane University. He is also just a great guy. His book, Ladder or Lottery: Economic Promises and the Reality of Who Gets Ahead , would be a strong supplement in a macroeconomics course, a special topics course, or even a senior seminar focused on policy implications. If you are studying economics, it is a must-read.
The UC Press blog includes a strong discussion with Hoov about why he wrote the book:
“Why did I write this book? Mainly to shed light on a simple question about placement on the social and economic scale, namely were people at lower or higher strata by their own choice or actions?”
“My argument was that there were approximately 45 million individuals at substantially lower rungs of the economic ladder, and that it was statistically inconceivable that so many were suffering from a culture or pathology that kept them from climbing the ladder. I stated that it was hard to fathom that some of those millions did not attempt to use the system as intended but did not get the desired result. If that was the case, then the economic system was not working as intended, and instead of a ladder, the economic system much more resembled a lottery.”
The second reason I moved on from the idea is that I heard Kyla Scanlon on Marketplace discussing the book she is working on, and it sounds close to what I had in mind. I cannot wait to read it.
About My Version
Is the first rung broken—or are we being pushed to skip it?
In my Notes app, I have an entry called “Entry Level Is Broken.” The premise is simple: markets and policymakers have designed systems that make it harder for people to begin their economic lives. Our current economic conditions favor those with assets and established careers, often at the expense of young and early-career individuals. But this is not just a market problem or a policy problem. It is also a cultural one, and even a parental one.
The pressure on young people to display success early pushes them into the economy already feeling behind. Social media, as discussed in The Anxious Generation , has only intensified that pressure and added its own consequences for well-being. Jonathan Haidt also writes about the overprotection of children in the real world. Now AI is reshaping how we think about entry-level work and what we expect from workers at the very beginning of their careers.
At the same time, I think the demand for truly entry-level experiences has faded. Using Hoov’s ladder analogy, I am not sure whether the first rung is broken or whether we are all being pushed to skip it. Either way, something foundational to economic development and personal growth no longer seems to be part of the process.
So I have scratched “Entry Level Is Broken” from my list of books I might write one day. Hoov’s book, and I am sure Kyla’s book when it is finished, will stand as reminders of the one I once thought I might write.
What’s Your Book?
What book would you write?
If you have never worked through that exercise, I highly recommend taking the time to do it. The answer tells you a lot about what you care about, what questions stay with you, and what kind of contribution you may still want to make.