Commentary Archive:

Select your household type (married, kids, rooomies, etc) and view some summary statistics from the American Community Survey.

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This 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”.

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Here is a chart of diamond prices, 1960-2010:

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I 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.

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It’s from Cracked magazine, so not entirely accurate – still an entertaining read, though.

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I don’t post many editorials, but I love Matt Taibbi’s gonzo journalism style and his insights about cracks in the financial system.

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A WSJ op-ed that presents a convincing argument that we can’t blame stupid people for the financial crisis (though they certainly helped).

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econ

Why 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.

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The 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).

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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:

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Nice WSJ article on bubbles. (via Ritholtz)

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A decent article by Martin Baily and Douglas Elliot on how big the crisis is – and comparisons of different estimates of the remaining problem:

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An amusing list of central bank salaries. (Bernanke’s underpaid)

Of course, they don’t mention their incomes before or after service.

Related Washington Post article.

G20 Stimulus

Of course, not being in terms of GDP, that isn’t the best perspective.

Here’s the original data from Brookings:

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And here’s a nice interactive heatmap of the plans (roll-over for country details):

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socialism-rich 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.

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Link: Lewis’s Dec 2008 article on the demise of Wall Street.