Apr 07 Making Sen$e: The Need for a Long-Term Budget Fix By Paul Solman Alice Rivlin (seated in green) with Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, during a meeting of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform in late 2010. (Photo By Tom… Continue reading
Apr 05 A Young Veteran and His Dog By Elizabeth Shell // Video shot and produced by Elizabeth Shell. Returning from tours in Iraq or Afghanistan (and sometimes both), American veterans struggle to adjust to civilian life: many are still grappling with what they experienced in combat and, as… Continue reading
Apr 04 Can U.S. Product Makers Manufacture a Profit? By Paul Solman Paul Solman answers questions from NewsHour viewers and web users on business and economic news most days on his Making Sen$e page. Here's Monday's query: Name: Paul Menzel Question: I understand that it is more profitable for… Continue reading
Apr 01 March Unemployment: Barely Budging By Paul Solman One brief comment on the jobs numbers. The net addition of 216,000 jobs, from the so-called payroll survey, is respectable. But the "household survey" reports roughly the same number of unemployed Americans: 13.5 million. You can't tell a lot from… Continue reading
Mar 31 The Madness of Sports Betting: Economics Edition By Paul Solman Editor's Note | If you're one of the millions of Americans who filled out a college basketball national championship bracket this year, odds are you're out of luck. ESPN reports that only two brackets out of over 5.9… Continue reading
Mar 31 Coming Up on Making Sen$e: The Fate of America’s Veterans Looking For Work By Paul Solman Editor's Note: On Friday's NewsHour: an eye-opening look at the fate of many veterans attempting to transition back into a tough job market. Today, there are over two million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And… Continue reading
Mar 30 Making Sen$e: Are American Workers Overpaid? By Paul Solman Paul Solman answers questions from NewsHour viewers and web users on business and economic news most days on his Making Sen$e page. Here's Wednesday's query: Name: Alex Question: Maybe it's my background as a college instructor (and… Continue reading
Mar 29 Making Sen$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 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