Commentary Archive:
How Stupid is it to Buy a Diamond?
In: Commentary Culture History
29 Oct 2010This classic Atlantic article explains in detail how the USA was manipulated into thinking diamond rings are a classy expression of your love – when in fact they are just a ripoff. While reading it I couldn’t help but see multiple parallels to what happened to the housing market and the “american dream”.
Here is a chart of diamond prices, 1960-2010:
Beware of Greeks Bearing Bonds
13 Sep 2010I rarely post articles that are not graphics related, but Michael Lewis qualifies for the occasional exception by offering remarkable insights into financial and economic issues. Read this article if you want to understand the Greek crisis in a very accessible and hilarious way.
Wall Street Grifters
19 Feb 2010I don’t post many editorials, but I love Matt Taibbi’s gonzo journalism style and his insights about cracks in the financial system.
Blame the Smart People?
18 Oct 2009A WSJ op-ed that presents a convincing argument that we can’t blame stupid people for the financial crisis (though they certainly helped).
Terrorism Worry Tree
15 Sep 2009Why have there been no more 9/11′s? Click on each of the theories to bring up the relevant essay, and make up your own mind.
Poor Design as Scare Tactic?
In: Commentary Graphic Design (general) Innovative US Economy
23 Jul 2009The Good blog discusses the Republican/Democratic scuffle about the below graphic and health care reform issues. (note: clicking on the below brings up a larger version on another blog).
Here is a better designed graphic (with some chart junk of it’s own, admittedly) from Good showing problems with the existing heath care system:
What Will It Take to Stabilize the Banks?
30 Mar 2009A decent article by Martin Baily and Douglas Elliot on how big the crisis is – and comparisons of different estimates of the remaining problem:
Central Bank Salaries
30 Mar 2009An amusing list of central bank salaries. (Bernanke’s underpaid)
Of course, they don’t mention their incomes before or after service.
G-20 Stimulus Spending
In: Bailout Commentary Finance Global Economy Interactive Maps Source: Washington Post US Economy
30 Mar 2009Related Washington Post article.
Of course, not being in terms of GDP, that isn’t the best perspective.
Here’s the original data from Brookings:
And here’s a nice interactive heatmap of the plans (roll-over for country details):
Read These Now
27 Mar 2009
It’s been a slow week graphic-wise, but I came across two fantastic articles on the crisis – can’t recommend them enough:
Matt Taibbi (Hunter S Thompson successor):
The Big Takeover
Simon Johnson (former IMF Chief Economist):
The Quiet Coup
I know this is a chart blog, but I love Michael Lewis’ writing. Here’s a great article on how Iceland got in trouble.
Link: Lewis’s Dec 2008 article on the demise of Wall Street.
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- Martin: Manager asks geek to document process. The longer the geek takes to document, the longer the geek ke [...]
- Steve: Budgets aren't subject to the filibuster. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster_in_the_United_S [...]
- Nathan: Rogier, follow the link to NPR and you will read that education has been lumped in with "everything [...]
- mims: Lol, the lazy man. I'd say the efficient woman. Or man. ;) [...]
- lam: except, scott, when you consider that congress has to do somethings just to keep this country functi [...]
Households Like You
In: Commentary Interactive Source: NYT
20 Jun 2011Select your household type (married, kids, rooomies, etc) and view some summary statistics from the American Community Survey.