First Blog

Jobs anyone? No Thanks.  "I don't want one," is the response from 34.3% of people. This is the latest statistic from the Wall Street Journal, where it is noted this is up from 30% just two decades ago. In a recent paper, Declining Labor Force Attachment and Downward Trends in Unemployment and Participation , by economists Regis Barnichon and Andrew Figura divided those out of the labor force using a simpler standard: whether or not the person says they want a job. the paper is rather technical but understandable. It does lead us to a couple of questions. (1) How much unemployment by those not wishing employment can a prosperous nation absorb - and remain prosperous? (2) What is the critical mass whereby this "don't want a job" attitude toward work becomes an epidemic in society? The answers to both are unexplored. There is another population out there not yet analyzed. This group, those people employed by in totally nonproductive venues.  Many govern

Someone has past away.  It happens every day.  It is a part of life.  We traditionally give reverence to the dead. While  not exactly liking or admiring them in life we honor their memory in death.  We mourn their passing; we celebrate their achievements.  This is the normal course of events saving the monsters of the day.  Hitler and Stalin are the iconic examples of mass murderer monsters that garner no, absolutely no charity in their passing. Nowadays we have the hagiographers and demonizers of every high-profile passing.  Case-in-point is Margaret Thatcher.  She is gone; her achievements, great or not, are now in the records.  By many accounts, she elevated a deteriorating British economy, though by many others she was the Iron Lady who ran roughshod over smaller nations. Many African nations do not celebrate her life.  Many on the far left deprecate her existence and celebrate her death.  They even rejoice in her passing by holding public rallies.  This seems to be symptomatic