Points of Public Interest

1. Fundamental and Mathematical Case for Structurally High Unemployment for a Decade - Mish Shedlock exposes the declining labor force, despite population growth, as the main reason for the falling unemployment rate.
2. Bubbles and Beauty Contests – To What Extent is Keynes Relevant to Investors? - Philip Pilkington uses one of Keynes’ best passages from the General Theory to show how most investors’ fool themselves into poor decisions.
3. Why I’m feeling strangely Austrian - Gideon Rachman sheds light on some emerging trends in political/economic ideology (rightwing populist, social democratic-Keynesian, libertarian-Hayekian and anti-capitalist/socialist).
4.  A slightly off-center perspective on monetary problems. Saving isn’t “setting money aside,” it’s BUILDING CAPITAL GOODS - Scott Sumner deals with some misconceptions about the actual meaning of saving as it relates to economics and economic statistics.
5. European Identities Part II - Francis Fukuyama describes the real EU crisis as a lack of European identity. The relationship between people living in Kentucky and New York is far different than that of Greeks and Germans. He mentions the rise of populist governments as something troublesome to watch for in the years ahead.