Economy Dec 09 Weather’s Dozen: 2011 Breaks U.S. Billion-Dollar Disaster Record Between fires, twisters, hurricanes, droughts and floods, 2011 has been Mother Nature's most continuously whopping year for the United States. Data released by NOAA now counts a record of 12 disasters passing the $1 billion mark in 2011 -- smashing…
Economy Nov 28 Occupy DC’s ‘Roving Kabaret’ Occupy DC recently hosted a "Roving Kabaret" ("K" as in K Street, which is where the organization has set up tents) that toured places around Washington, D.C., with historical significance to workers' rights movements. At each spot, organizers explained its…
Economy Nov 14 Why a Lesson in Money Plus Math Equals Financial Stability // By Elizabeth Shell. Video: Sheila Bair and Paul Solman talk about how simple math and financial education, like the savings lessons in her children's book 'Rock, Brock, and the Savings Shock,' might have helped avert the financial crash. Sheila…
Economy Oct 12 Could ‘Georgia Works’ Work on a National Level? Georgia Works is a program touted for helping unemployed residents get back to work by pairing job seekers with employers who are willing to promise on-the-job training. The program has support from both Republicans and Democrats.So what is Georgia Works,…
Economy Oct 05 A Day with the Occupiers of Wall Street We spent yesterday at the Occupy Wall St. site in lower Manhattan, a stone's throw from ground zero. For those of us old enough to remember such gatherings in the so-called Sixties ('64-'74), the similarities were striking: spontaneity, solidarity, earnestness,…
Economy Sep 14 Is There Anything Funny About America’s Jobs Problem? Today we thought we would give you a lighter take on the U.S. unemployment situation. We've rounded up some of our favorite recent political cartoons, which we hope will make you laugh about a subject that these days has made…
Economy Aug 18 Getting High for Less: Easier Access to Better, Cheaper Heroin Cripples Small Towns By Paul Solman, Kelly Chen and Sarah Svoboda Black tar heroin. Photo via the City of Wichita police department. Note: We've been exploring economic inequality in America this week, and thought it an opportune moment to share something…
Economy Jul 01 Joseph Stiglitz, Barney Frank Respond to ‘Reckless Endangerment’ Allegations Friday on the NewsHour, New York Times finance specialist Gretchen Morgenson and co-author Josh Rosner, a longtime housing analyst, talk about their new bestseller, "Reckless Endangerment" (no. 17 on the Times list this week). The book is a sustained indictment…
Economy Jun 30 Troubled By Our Pension Post? Here’s Our Response // Watch Paul Solman's report, 'Is Your Pension Safe? States Struggle With Pricey Challenges.' Our blog post on pension contributions received a supposed "correction" which itself generated some reaction. We reproduce "DougMartin10th's" original comment and my response below. Even…
Economy Jun 29 As IMF’s New Chief, Will Lagarde ‘Keep Smiling’? Christine Lagarde was nominated Wednesday to head the IMF. Photo by Dominique Charriau/Getty Images. So the synchronized French swim champ with accent-free English whom we interviewed last summer in Paris, Christine Lagarde, will run the IMF. What did we…