10.16.09
Posted in Current Events, Economics at 10:08 am by madcap
A reader spars with Andrew Sullivan over which administration(s) deserve credit for the Dow hitting 10,000: The Daily Dish - Dissent of the Day
Allow me to offer a different dissent:
In 1999, when the Dow hit 10,000, the unemployment rate was 4-4.5%. In 2009 when the Dow hit 10,000, the unemployment rate was 9.5%.
Let’s not start uncorking the champagne just yet.
Most Americans don’t enjoy a lot of benefit directly from the stock market. Even for those of us who have significant savings there, it’s mostly tied up in retirement accounts.
Yes, growth can lead to jobs. But it doesn’t necessarily have to. And until it does, the recession will not be over for most people, especially those looking for a job. So why don’t we all sit back, take down the “Mission Accomplished” banner hanging over Wall Street, and maintain a little bit of cautious optimism instead?
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06.21.09
Posted in Economics, Rants at 3:08 am by madcap
After a bleak 2008, equities are looking up. But whatever the market, our trademark long-term portfolio can help you build a nest egg for a secure future.
Fortune 40: The best stocks to retire on
Isn’t it time to throw in the towel on stock picking, Fortune? How about some advice that regular people (you know… the kind that might read your magazine) could use without getting themselves in trouble?
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11.10.08
Posted in Current Events, Economics, Politics at 9:20 am by madcap
In the Huffington Post article Larry Summers’ True Record on Women, Sheryl Sandberg writes an otherwise glowing review of Lawrence Summers’ (former short-term Treasury Secretary and ex-Harvard president) record on women. There was one bit I had to take issue with, however:
To conclude that he communicated poorly — and even insensitively — is fair.
Having read a transcript of Summers’ statements at that conference, I’ll go one further and say that to conclude that he communicated poorly– much less insensitively– is unfair.
Summers raised some points of consideration with regard to why women and men choose certain careers disproportionately. He offered his opinions and personal insights in good faith, and suggested further study.
This inflamed the insecurities of certain people who hold fast to an ideological belief that, when it comes to education and careers, men and women must by necessity start out perfectly equal, and so any imbalance must be caused by social factors. That’s a fine theory to hold, but only if you can support it with evidence instead of ideology. Summers’ detractors on this point are afraid of any competing theories, perhaps because they know their own is on such shaky ground.
The fact is, if you really want to increase the representation of women in fields like math and science (or, conversely, the representation of men in the humanities), you need a firm and grounded understanding of what motivates them to enter certain fields. Social factors no doubt play a role, but if that’s all you focus on, I believe you’ll be sorely disappointed with your results.
Rather than being strung up, Summers should have been lauded for his willingness to enter into the conversation honestly and express points that most in academia seem too cowed to.
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09.29.08
Posted in Current Events, Economics, Politics at 12:28 am by madcap
John McCain is on course to lose the presidential election to Barack Obama. Can he turn it around, and surge to victory?
He has a chance. But only if he overrules those of his aides who are trapped by conventional wisdom, huddled in a defensive crouch and overcome by ideological timidity. [...and listen to me, the guy who is constantly wrong.]
Op-Ed Columnist - How McCain Wins - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com
Ol’ Kristol’s at it again. This time he’s weaving a tale of Republican hopes and dreams that’s more myth than anything.
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