Joel Vargas

Should college athletes be employees of their universities?

I played four years of D1 soccer on a full ride. Let me total what I actually received: tuition, housing, meals, books, elite coaching, strength training, physical therapy, tutoring, travel, gear. That's well over $100,000 a year in value, tax-free, with zero debt. I graduated with a degree and working knees. The employment debate acts like athletes get nothing. We get one of the best compensation packages available to any 18-year-old in America. The [NCAA](https://www.ncaa.org/) system has real flaws, but pretending scholarship athletes are exploited laborers insults everyone who would kill for that deal. Pay the revenue stars if you want. Don't pretend the package is nothing.

idk, i feel like the real issue is companies getting 500 applications per posting because applying takes one click now. the screening is a symptom

Business · Oct 6, 2026 · Should companies be banned from using AI to screen job applications?

Standard Oil is the older precedent and it fits too. Rockefeller's successors did fine after 1911, and the spinoffs competed hard. Breakups punish the structure, not success, and shareholders usually come out ahead.

Politics · Sep 23, 2026 · Should the federal government break up Big Tech companies?

The selection effect is a fair critique of the health math. But even if the savings are smaller than claimed, the direction is right, and public money should face some accounting of its public return.

Sports · Sep 23, 2026 · Should national sports funding reward participation growth as much as medal resu…