Writing in The American Prospect, Lawrence Mishel and Richard Rothstein disabuse readers of the notion that rising inequality can be reversed by improving the educational system. In fact, as the title of their piece - "Schools as Scapegoats" - indicates, the school system is being scapegoated by politicians and economists who refuse to believe that interventions in the private market may be required to reverse the inequality trend. The honesty of our capital markets, the accountability of our corporations, our fiscal-policy and currency management, our national investment in R&D and infrastructure, and the fair-play of the trading system (or its absence), also influence whether the U.S. economy reaps the gains of Americans' diligence and ingenuity. The singular obsession with schools deflects political attention from policy failures in those other realms. If you're interested in inequality issues, this is a must-read article. Below the fold is the nickel version of the piece.