economics

Crazy Rich Businessman Enacts Metaphor For America

John Cook · 05/20/11 03:47PM

Virginia restaurateur Henry Allen Fitzsimmons has hit upon a welfare plan the GOP can get behind: He sought out vulnerable young women who needed help and gave them money for education and childcare. All he asked in return was that they submit to being spanked, by him, on demand.

The Economy Is Having a Relapse

Hamilton Nolan · 05/04/11 11:09AM

Good news from the world of Economia! Well, not "good," exactly. Bad. Bad news. The glorious economic recovery seems to be in danger of stalling, what with the sluggish growth rate, persistent unemployment, and general malaise among the non-investing class.

All This Inequality Is Making The Poors Very Distrustful

Hamilton Nolan · 04/25/11 12:31PM

The whole nation of America was founded on the premise of being "one big happy family," with equality for all—women and minorities now included by law! Sadly, economists tell us that income inequality may be eroding the trust between the rich and the poor members of the American "family." What's the reason for the treason, distrustful poors?

Economists Debate: Are Conflicts of Interest, You Know, Bad?

Hamilton Nolan · 04/19/11 03:07PM

One portion of the devastating documentary about the global financial collapse, Inside Job (which won an Oscar, so you have to see it), dealt with academic economists—specifically, the ways that they became financially tied to banks and other players in finance, and how that may have compromised the entire practice of economics. It even showed the heads of the economic departments at Harvard (pictured) and Columbia blithely asserting that there was no need to disclose their financial conflicts of interest in academic papers. It was sickening.

America Is a Land of Luddites

Adrian Chen · 04/13/11 10:53AM

All of the best technologies in the world have come from America: The Internet, microwave popcorn… other things. So why isn't America No. 1 when it comes to the digital economy? A new report says we're a measly fifth!

Outrageously Expensive Proms Aren't What They Used to Be

Adrian Chen · 04/10/11 11:05AM

It's prom season, which means it's time for the New York Post to roll out its trend story about how New York City proms are more outrageously expensive than ever. However! Our scientific meta-trend analysis shows isn't quite the case.

Snooki Is Worth $2,000 More Than Toni Morrison

Max Read · 03/31/11 11:55PM

Is it possible to assign a dollar value to a specific person? Duh, yes, Rutgers University just did it: Jersey Shore's Snooki is worth $32,000 and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison is worth $30,000.

Liberal Pinko Welfare Handouts Work Well, Actually

Hamilton Nolan · 03/21/11 11:48AM

Liberal gay and very likely socialist New York City is much like a petri dish in which liberals enact their anti-American policies unimpeded, as the rest of American looks on in horrified fascination. The city's latest far-left experiment: giving money directly to poor people so they can run out and buy Cadillacs and crack cocaine, courtesy of hardworking taxpayers. What do the cold, hard statistics say about the failings of this welfare society run amok?

The Next American Gold Rush Is On

Hamilton Nolan · 02/11/11 05:05PM

Pop quiz: what's the correct conclusion to draw about our economy from the following news? The NYT reports that 1850s-era gold mines in California—many of which have not been working mines for 40 years or more—are now being reopened for prospecting. "Gold will soon be big business again in California's Mother Lode, in the same area of the Sierras - and occasionally the same mines - where the old-time prospectors once used pick axes, ore carts and burros to chase their riches."

The Year in Google Searches

Matt Cherette · 12/09/10 01:50PM

What did the world care about in 2010? According to Google, which just released its annual Zeitgeist video—highlighting the year's top search terms—we were interested in money, politics, tragedy, war, the dearly departed, and... Antoine Dodson. Watch inside.

White House Staffers Got a Bigger Raise Than You Did Last Year

John Cook · 11/12/10 12:36PM

Did you get a raise last year? Seventy-four percent of White House staffers did, according a Gawker analysis of the White House's annual salary reports to Congress. Probably for the great job they're doing with the economy.