Forms of Inquiry: 12/6/14 Today's Inquiries

Coffee is the best!

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Yesterday's unemployment report. Lots to like about it. Although the percentage rate remained unchanged, we now have 10 straight months of 200k or more job growth, we've added more than 2 million more jobs than were added last year, and there are 1.7 million more jobs than the previous pre-recession peak employment. September and October numbers were also revised upwards. It's the best year since the 90s for employment. Krugman lays into the "worst recovery ever" crowd here. Thanks Obama.

Many of those jobs are in oil and gas extraction which is probably going to change if low oil prices can't sustain that workforce.

Small business borrowing is back up too. Go, go job creators.

Did the Nanny State kill Eric Garner? No, the asshole cop who choked him killed Eric Garner. However, I find Paul's arguments effective and, yet again, I wish this were a larger libertarian position with more concern for minorities who are constantly harassed by the state.

Ghetto policing spreads to the suburbs.

The demonstrators were not responding to the deprivations of the ghetto but to confrontations that have taken place in the suburban areas where many black people have moved in recent years as the forces of gentrification have made their traditional urban neighbourhoods too costly for them to afford.

The grievances being aired are those of African-Americans who made their way out of the slums but feel they are viewed with suspicion in the suburbs, particularly by police mimicking the aggressive tactics of their urban brethren.

The next battle in the pension plan wars: Congress will soon allow companies to cut benefits to currently retired pensioners. Wait, isn't a pension a contract? Have things like this been litigated before? I simply can't believe it would stand up to legal scrutiny. Usually it comes to bankruptcy or buyouts of current pensioners.

You know what business you won't find any climate change deniers in? The reinsurance business. I guess the free markets are also in on the climate change scam.

An anti LBGTQ discrimination bill in Alabama is going to be named after Apple CEO Tim Cook. Good on them although it doesn't stand a chance of passing. They might love capitalism and he might be CEO of the most valuable company in the world, but he's got the gay so he can be fired at any time (in AL).

Rolling Stone decides not to stand by the UVA gang rape story it published recently. Since this case is so high profile, have they done irreparable harm to the credibility of rape victims everywhere?

Middle class pay is elusive for teachers. Apparently the Atlanta area pays very well. So why are their schools so bad? Or are they? Honestly, it's mostly a cost of living calculation which pushes the compensation so low in placed like New York.

The incredible shrinking income of young Americans.

You know, if we stopped the disappearance of the Comp Sci classroom, we might also help address tech's diversity problems. Because if only rich white schools have computer science, only rich white comp sci grads will exist.

Arnold Kling on college incompletion data.

Still, my position is that the reason that few come out of the funnel on time is that too many unqualified students are being crammed into the funnel in the first place. Talk to anyone who has taught at something other than a prestigious private institution, and chances are the professor will be surprised that the graduation rate is as high as it is. Most of those professors are bending over backward to grade generously, and even so….