Tag Archives: United States

More discussion about falling employment of young men in the US: John Rust publicizes the facts in a speech: Unskilled young men spend more time playing video games and less time in the labor market. “In 2015, 22 percent of lower-skilled men aged 21–30 had not worked at all during the prior 12 months.” They live in the basement of their parents’ houses and are not married. (And on his 12-year old son: “If we didn’t ration video games, I am not sure he would ever eat. I am positive he...

The New York Times’ Upshot. Currently the odds are 3/4 to 1/4.

In a Resolution Foundation report, Adam Corlett examines the “Elephant Curve.” The curve shows that between 1988 and 2008 income growth in the 70th to 95th percentile range of the world income distribution was much lower than for almost all other percentiles. Since the lower middle class of rich countries is situated around the 80th percentile of the distribution the Elephant curve has been interpreted as evidence for stagnating middle class incomes in the rich countries. Corlett...

The Economist reports about the political economy aspects of America’s semi-nationalized mortgage industry.

Enlargeable topographic map of the contiguous United States with hypsometric tints. Source: Wikipedia.

The Economist reports about the “American Redoubt” in the U.S. North West. Water, land, game, guns and bounty hunters.

In the FT, Edward Luce worries about a loss of dignity that is reflected in contemporary politics. Republicans generally favour liberty over equality and Democrats the reverse. Other people’s dignity is not up for grabs. Mr Trump’s hostile takeover of the Republican party has shredded that equation. … “You walked out of a Reagan rally in a spirit of optimism,” says Stuart Stevens, an adviser to Republican nominee Mitt Romney. “You leave a Trump rally ready for a fight.” … … Luigi...

In the Daily Local News, Sue Buchel and Parry Desmond report about a Liechtenstein born immigrant to the US who died on his way back to Europe, 134 years ago.

In the FT, Edward Luce writes about America’s class distinctions. The real story, as depicted by historian Nancy Isenberg, author of White Trash, is that America was founded amid highly conscious class distinctions. African slaves were not the only group to be disenfranchised. … It would be difficult to read America’s history — or decode the 2016 presidential election — without reference to the struggle between poor whites and the descendants of former slaves. Lyndon Baines Johnson, who...

In the NZZ, Andrea Köhler qualifies the micro aggression debate on US college campuses as a “witch hunt.” Um keine Missverständnisse aufkommen zu lassen: Der allgemeine Konsens, Diskriminierung zu ahnden, ist hier nicht gemeint. Selbstverständlich gilt es, traumatisierte Menschen zu unterstützen und Minoritäten zu schützen; letzteres hat das Attentat von Orlando einmal mehr deutlich gemacht. Doch die Hypersensibilität an den Universitäten unterminiert jede Form des intellektuellen...