Everyone’s job prospects are sinking
In discussing new employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics when disaggregated by educational attainment, Andy Rotherham argues that “problems are hardly equally distributed and again the returns to education are apparent.” Looking at the table (and at the seasonally-adjusted figures), it’s clear that there are differences in January’s unemployment rates (12.0% for high […]
Easy prediction, the bad kind
When a university lays off a large proportion of its faculty (including those with tenure) when (a) the university has not declared financial exigency, (b) faculty representatives gave the administration options to address the financial problems without laying anyone off, and (c) faculty were not involved in deciding who would be laid off, it doesn’t […]
Upcoming documentary on secret human computers
Documentary filmmaker LeAnn Ericksen is in the middle of finishing “Top Secret Rosie,” about human computers in WW2 and the small group who then became among the earliest programmers. But you can view an 8-minute trailer now. Update: More (and better) from Doctor Pion.
Klein compares Bloomberg to Putin
No, he didn’t, but at the mayoral-control hearing in Albany, according to the indefatigable Elizabeth Green, Klein defended himself passionately, arguing that mayoral control is a democratic governance structure, not an authoritarian one, as some members painted it. The logic here is weak: under that view, a plebiscite dictatorship is democratic because every few years […]
Getting into the weeds: when did $25 billion become the weeds??
Charles Barone has been writing about the stimulus debate with the type of detail that no one else has, at least publicly. That’s the importance of having people with legislative experience who really can get deeply into the weeds. What’s jaw-dropping is that the stimulus package is so large that the Senate cut of $24.8 […]