Are small town colleges going extinct?
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What is the Beige Book and why is it the focus of today’s episode?
NPR.
Hey, Robert. Looks like you're packing a lunch there.
It is September. School is back in session. And I want to make sure my kid has a healthy and informative lunch.
Informative, you say? Wait a minute. Did you tuck a copy of the Beige Book in there? I can see it sticking out of the lunchbox.
Okay, the Beige Book is my favorite obscure government document about the regional economies in the United States. And yes, it makes for great reading in the lunchroom.
I suppose your child can always trade it with the other kids for something more delicious.
Ooh, like the monthly retail sales report? Or the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index?
Mwah! I mean, those are all the rage among Gen Alpha, but do they have their own awards show?
The Beige Awards, our eight times a year salute to the art and science of telling stories about the economy. I'm Robert Smith.
How did the Dallas Fed’s story illustrate rising wage demands?
And I'm Waylon Wong. There are storms brewing in the economy right now, and we will give awards to the Beige Book anecdotes with the most accurate forecasts.
Will it be workers demanding more money or the rich wanting to pay fewer taxes?
Or will it be the economic hurricane bearing down on college towns? The winners after the break.
Austin Tice is an American journalist who disappeared over a decade ago while reporting in Syria. And for years, we've been searching for him.
This looks like a secret passage.
I'm just pushing the door so you can get in.
Go, go, go.
Listen to Where Is Austin Tice from NPR's Embedded and BBC Radio 4 on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, it's me, Peter Sagal, host of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. It's leaf peeping season, so why not peep our weekly news quiz while you're at it? We got comedians, celebrities, and games to help laugh about the week's news, and you can listen while you're spicing your pumpkins, whatever people do. Listen every week to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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It is always good to remind everyone how this award show works.
What impact does the proposed ‘pied‑à‑terre’ tax have on New York’s housing market?
There are 12 regional banks in the Federal Reserve System. Each one studies their local economy and brings back little stories of what they see. They publish them in the document known as the Beige Book, and we give awards to the very best stories.
We always start with the runners-up. Our third place award today goes to the Dallas Fed. In the Beige Book, Dallas employers were talking about how some workers were demanding more money. The quote, Robert?
One contact noted job candidates asking for San Francisco wages.
Ooh la la. I love that as a shorthand for a worker who wants a raise. Raise-a-roni, the San Francisco treat. Put that in your lunchbox, Robert.
It is delicious. But, you know, you have to think, what will those workers demand next? Foggy mornings? Cable cars?
Let them eat sourdough, I say.
Meanwhile, in another rich city with high wages, the New York Fed gets our second place award. Why don't you read this one, Waylon?
Why did the Boston Fed win the award for its higher‑education report?
A contact noted that many prospective buyers of luxury properties in New York City shifted to the rental market following a proposed new tax on high-value second homes.
This is the so-called pied-à-terre tax. And this is textbook economics. When you put a tax on something, people will consume less of it. In this case, if you tax owning second homes, people will rent those homes instead.
Of course, that could then drive up rents. San Francisco rents? The
joke never ends.
Aye, aye, aye. No, the jokes must end, Robert. Because it is time for our big award. And this goes to a regional fed writing about higher education. The envelope, please. And the beige goes to... The Boston Fed.
Coming to the stage is Riley Sullivan, lead policy analyst at the Boston Fed. We spoke on September 3rd. Congratulations, Riley. Have
you prepared a speech? No, unfortunately, I do not have a speech written, but I'm really honored to be back.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the Beige Book and why is it the focus of today’s episode?
0:00–1:01
2
How did the Dallas Fed’s story illustrate rising wage demands?
1:01–2:32
3
What impact does the proposed ‘pied‑à‑terre’ tax have on New York’s housing market?
2:32–3:28
4
Why did the Boston Fed win the award for its higher‑education report?
3:28–4:38
5
What does the Beige Book say about the slowdown and pessimism in Massachusetts colleges?
4:38–6:20
6
Why did Anna Maria College close and what were the warning signs?
6:20–7:46
7
How are shrinking enrollments and tuition costs reshaping small‑town economies?
7:46–8:51
8
What other Massachusetts colleges are facing closure and what does it mean for the region?
8:51–10:29
Speakers
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