Executives at the Calpers state pension system are proposing a new plan to plug its $87 billion dollar hole and bring it to fully funded status in 30 years. The road to solvency would be rough, requiring municipalities to pay as much as 50 percent more in pension contributions. Bloomberg has the details: In a […]

The sorry state of the labor market could be deflating the marriageability of men and tearing at the social fabric of the American family. So argues Robert J. Samuelson in the Washington Post, and he claims that, with 496,000 people exiting the labor force since 2007, this problem will likely only get worse: Even before […]

Argentines are desperate to gain access to the US dollar, the WSJ reports. Cuevas (caves) where residents can exchange pesos for dollars at black-market rates are flourishing, and people are trying all sorts of tricks to profit off of an economy in crisis.Why is this happening? Argentina is experiencing severe inflation: 10.8 percent if you believe the government, upwards […]

Charter schools and teacher unions have so far tried to have as little to do with one another as possible, but there are signs that this is beginning to change. Burdened with long hours and comparatively low pay, some charter teachers are open to hearing what the unions have to say, and some of their […]

China’s military considers the United States “enemy-in-chief” and, as it has done for decades, maintains a shroud of secrecy around the PLA’s size, capabilities, and intentions. That much is clear from a recent paper written by the PLA’s deputy chief of the general staff, the number two military man in China, for the Study Times, the official […]

The European Parliament just voted down a measure that would have attempted to revive its carbon market, likely dooming it to a slow and undignified death. This was a last-ditch effort to drive the EU’s carbon price back to a level that would incentivize green reforms. And it failed.The EU’s carbon market was the flagship program of […]

Watch out Gucci, you’ve got competition: designers in Asia are beginning to challenge European fashion powerhouses. Bloomberg reports that Asian brands like Courrone and Woo are growing even as traditional companies like Louis Vuitton are facing slowing growth. This is a dramatic shift for a region that has traditionally been known for low-quality manufacturing and illegal […]

As the day dawns on Boston after yesterday’s barbaric, tragic bombing, Iraq too is recovering from a particularly bloody day. The New York Times has the story: In the latest surge of violence, more than 20 attacks around the country on Monday killed close to 50 people and wounded nearly 200. Two schools in Hilla […]

Since yesterday afternoon, Americans have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. We know we’ve been attacked by someone deranged, hate-filled and cowardly, but we don’t know much more than that.The police seem to be following some leads, but either because no one is claiming responsibility or because so many are claiming responsibility we […]

How unfair is Social Security going to be on the coming generations? Here’s a report being highlighted by CNN that’s worth looking at: A couple who each earned the average wage during their careers and retired in 1990 would have paid $316,000 in Social Security taxes, but collected $436,000 in benefits, according to data crunched by Eugene […]