Lupita Nyong’o arriving at the Golden Globes
Beauty to end a not so beautiful day
Archive for January 11th, 2015
11
Jan
15
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Jason Furman: The Employment Situation In December
1. The private sector has added 11.2 million jobs over 58 straight months of job growth, extending the longest streak on record. Today we learned that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 252,000 in December, mainly reflecting a 240,000 increase in private employment. Private-sector job growth was revised up for October and November by a combined 50,000 so that over the past three months, private-sector job growth has averaged 280,000 per month. Private employment has risen by at least 200,000 for 11 consecutive months, the first time that has happened since the 1990s.
2. Total employment rose by 2.95 million in 2014, the most in any calendar year since 1999. Private-sector employers added 2.86 million jobs last year, the strongest private-sector job growth in any calendar year since 1997. The pace of overall job growth has increased, averaging 246,000 per month in 2014, up from 194,000 per month last year. On a percentage basis, the economy is adding jobs at a rate of about 2 percent per year, also on pace for the largest percentage increase in any calendar year since the late 1990s. Crucially, the pickup in the pace of job growth in 2014 has primarily been in industries with higher wages. For instance, the pace of manufacturing job growth has more than doubled to 16,000 per month this year, from 7,000 per month last year, and average weekly earnings for manufacturing workers are about $170 higher than for all private-sector workers. As discussed in greater detail below (see point #4), overall real average earnings have generally been growing, but there is more work to be done to raise wages and address longer-standing challenges around family incomes.
More here
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https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/553544977381597184
https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/553546253016264704
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https://twitter.com/Altarum_CSHS/status/553547384073224192
https://twitter.com/RexPeretz/status/553549108586508288
DEFINITION OF ‘WAGE PUSH INFLATION’
A general increase in the cost of goods that is preceded by and results from an increase in wages. In order to maintain corporate profits after an increase in wages, employers must increase the prices they charge for the goods and services they provide. The overall increased cost of goods and services has a negative effect on the wage increase, and eventually, higher wages will be again needed to compensate for the increased prices for consumer goods.
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https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/553545139835400192
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My thoughts have been in a roil since the Charlie Hebdo attack, and the subsequent murder of shoppers in a kosher supermarket.
As a card-carrying librarian, my professional DNA says that I’m a free speech absolutist.
But, also as a card carrying librarian, I have reason and common sense to guide me. And in life there are no absolutes.
The cartoonists working for Charlie Hebdo did not deserve to die. In a pluralistic democracy, no one should die for words or images. I can say categorically that the murders were unconscionable and without justification. It’s a truism of life that you’ll be offended, repeatedly. And violence is never an acceptable response.
But the elevation of Charlie Hebdo to some bastion of free speech troubles me.
Continue reading ‘On Charlie Hebdo, Satire, And The Thin Line’
11
Jan
15
Chat On
11
Jan
15
Chat Away
11
Jan
15
Early Bird Rise and Shine
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MoooOOOooorning – chat on!
The Obama Diary 
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