Mar 30 Are American Workers Overpaid? By Elizabeth Shell Name: Alex Question: Maybe it's my background as a college instructor (and union member), but Paul Solman's tone in his inquiry into GM workers' wages raised my hackles. It may be that the intent was didactic -- to instruct viewers… Continue reading
Mar 29 Watch Is the U.S. Stuck in a Second Housing Slump? The economy may be showing sings of new life but new data show a weak housing market. Ray Suarez talks to Yale University's Ron Shiller about the state of the U.S. housing picture. Continue watching
Mar 29 Making Sen$e Tool$ Tuesday: How States Measure Up By Paul Solman According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the nation grew almost ten percent over the last decade -- from 281.4 million in 2000 to 308.7 million in 2010. The country's racial mix has shifted, too. The number of people that… Continue reading
Mar 28 Economic Forecasts: Crow or Eat Crow By Paul Solman Paul Solman answers questions from NewsHour viewers and readers about business and economic news most days on his Making Sen$e page. Here's Monday's query: Name: Dr. Gene Audette Question: Every year it's prognostications, prognostications. But seldom do… Continue reading
Mar 28 Economic Forecasters: Crow or Eat Crow By Elizabeth Shell Name: Dr. Gene Audette Question: Every year it's prognostications, prognostications. But seldom do "columns" like yours do a retrospective to compare what was predicted to what actually occurred, and to get the same prognosticator to have to defend his/her predictions… Continue reading
Mar 25 The Shirtwaist Factory Fire: 100 Years Later By Paul Solman On the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, NewsHour economics correspondent Paul Solman answered a reader's comment about the need to remember what happened that day. Richard R. Palmer: March 25 is the 100th anniversary of the Triangle… Continue reading
Mar 24 Watch Many Americans Feel 'Stuck in a Rut' as Economy Improves, But Inequality Grows As part of his continuing coverage of Making Sen$e of economic news, Paul Solman examines the struggles to close the widening U.S. inequality gap, even as the economy improves. Continue watching
Mar 24 Income Inequality: Where Do You Fall? By Paul Solman Updated March 25, 2011 at 1:33 p.m. with a fixed link to the Slate interactive. Income inequality has changed over time: today the richest 1 percent of Americans hold about 24 percent of U.S. wealth. But almost a century ago… Continue reading
Mar 23 The Effects of Oil Production Turmoil: What We Pay For At The Pump By Paul Solman Ever wonder why a gallon of gas will cost $3.21 today, $3.12 yesterday and maybe $3.79 next week? The price of the gas at the pump fluctuates mainly with the price of crude oil, plus a time lag. The price… Continue reading
Mar 22 Watch How Will Consumers Fare in T-Mobile, AT&T Merger? AT&T announced plans on Monday to buy wireless competitor T-Mobile for $39 billion. If approved, the sale would create the U.S.'s largest wireless carrier. Ray Suarez talks with Jeffrey Silva of Medley Global Advisors and Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge… Continue watching