Jun 06 Digital revolution threatens American literature, says best-selling author James Patterson By Frank Carlson Despite having authored dozens of best-selling titles, James Patterson is very worried about the present and future of books in America, as the publishing world continues to grapple with the tectonic shifts brought about by the advent of ebooks and… Continue reading
Jun 06 200K more Americans and 200K more jobs, but 300K more 'want a job' By Paul Solman With 217,000 jobs added to the economy, payrolls now exceed their pre-recession level. But even if the economy is pumping out enough jobs for a workforce that also grew by roughly 200,000, there are now nearly 300,000 more Americans than… Continue reading
Jun 06 Jobs report: Nonfarm payrolls surpass pre-recession level By Simone Pathe The economy added 217,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate stayed the same as the previous month at 6.3 percent. The payroll number exceeded consensus expectations of about 213,000 jobs, but more significantly, this is a landmark month because… Continue reading
Jun 05 Watch SEC seeks to rein in unfair practices of high-frequency trading By PBS News Hour The chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission laid out new rules to regulate high-frequency trading. Critics have argued that high-speed, computer trading gives a small group of traders an enormous advantage over the general public. Judy Woodruff talks to… Continue watching
Jun 05 Why an apprenticeship may be a faster ticket to the American dream than a college degree By Dustin Reid Dustin Reid, an apprentice at BMW's only U.S. plant, explains why manufacturing is growing in the United States and why vocational training may be a more sure path to the American dream than a four-year degree. Continue reading
Jun 04 Watch BMW apprenticeship program trains workers to rise through the ranks without 4-year degree By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Jun 04 Can Americans compete with quality-driven Germans? By Paul Solman Werner Eikenbusch, BMW’s head of workforce development for the Americas, left high school in the 10th grade for an apprenticeship program that combined on-the-job training with vocational school. He eventually returned to school to become an engineer, and at BMW’s… Continue reading
Jun 02 Your Social Security benefits depend on the specifics By Laurence Kotlikoff Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff says there is no general rule in trying to maximize your Social Security benefits. The precise amounts of what you and your current, ex-, or deceased spouse(s) earned and when you and they earned it… Continue reading
Jun 02 Obama's new energy plan: Why not put the fed's trillions into renewables? By Chris Martenson Chris Martenson would be a lot less worried about this country’s economic future if America invested in the kinds of alternative energy he’s installed around his home in rural New England. Continue reading
May 30 Everything you need to know about carbon pricing explained in cartoon By Yoram Bauman Stand-up economist Yoram Bauman returns to Making Sen$e to present a chapter of his new book, "The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change," and more specifically, to explain how the carbon tax and cap-and-trade are two names for the same concept. Continue reading