Archive for November, 2011

The End Game In Europe

Tyler Cowen commenting on the failed German bond auction offered perhaps the most succinct analysis of the dilemma facing Europe: Maybe these markets simply will shut down soon.  There is so much talk about what the Germans should do, but I don’t see the viable options.  With Germany’s own credit status now in doubt, eighty […]

There Really Aren’t Any Fundamental Problems In Europe

Well at least Felix Salmon disses the technocrats in his latest missive on the Euro crisis. Quite out of character for the Progressive side of the blogosphere. Not content, however, to speak truth to power he then proceeds to aver that the real problem is that bankers and technocrats are simply trying to kick the […]

Some Thoughts On Youth Unemployment

Jake at EconomPicData.com published this graph today(click to enlarge).  Jake, I think properly, finds the decline in employment among the young troubling: Reading the post allowed for some self reflection on jobs I had before turning 20 (lawn mowing, snow shoveling, race track concession stand, snack bar at a swim club, waiter at a […]

The Essence Of The Jobs Problem

One of the reasons that I very much like Jake’s graphs at EconomPicData.com is that they often go beyond  superficial analysis of the latest data release and find the story that really matters. A case in point is this graph that skips over the blah, blah, blah that usually accompanies the monthly employment data in […]

Why College Doesn’t Pay

A month ago Mike Mandel published these thought provoking charts detailing the plight of new college graduates: Mandel notes that he has not seen a credible explanation for the trend of declining earnings and asks what sort of  economic policies might be devised to help new graduates. Alex Tabarrok provides some interesting data that might […]

California Train Wreck

I guess that somehow, someway Californians have advanced to a higher level of intelligence and see the wisdom in choices that eludes mortals like me. Walter Russell Mead provides the details on the explosion in cost estimates for the state’s high speed rail train while the WSJ weighs in on the imminent imposition of a […]