Sense and Nonsense

The Spread of Unemployment

Jim Fallows, from whose blog I stole this video, points out that there are some minor imperfections in this animated map below that shows the spread of unemployment in the U.S. since early 2007.  Still, it tells the story dramatically. 

And here's part of why the problem is so hard to solve:

 

© Matt Davies
 

Property Developers Want Bailout, Too

Today's Wall Street Journal reports that now the country's biggest property developers are heading to Washington with hat-in-hand, looking for a government bailout.  Good lord.  Everybody wants aboard the gravy train.

Avoiding the Ax

There are much fairer ways for firms to cut labor costs than laying off employees -- furloughs, four-day workweeks, unpaid vacations, wage freezes, across-the-board pay cuts, etc.  The lead article in today's New York Times reports that a growing number of employers are hoping to avoid or limit layoffs by using those techniques instead, so that the pain is not concentrated on a small number of unlucky targets but gets spread around.