The Fall of a Technocrat
Harrisburg and the need for compromise on debt reduction.
On the Newsstand:finance
The End of the Dreams of a Generation
As men decide to walk only on Earth, it seems as if the dreams of an entire generation – to walk among the stars, to go where no man has gone before – are slowly falling into the ancient pillars of history.
Taking a Hike
Recruiting season comes every year at Harvard. In fact, I think it might come twice a year. Truth be told, I don’t really know when recruiting season is. There comes a day every autumn and/or spring when, strolling down Plympton Street at dusk, I see an army of well-dressed undergraduates hurrying past me into the New England night, and I ... Read More
Great Expectations for UN Climate Talks in Durban
While the U.S. flounders in the face of irreversible danger, climate finance and mitigation remain possible hopes
Greecing the Engine
Greece was not the first European country to obscure its debt in arcane derivative contracts.
Weighing In: The Big Short
I just finished Michael Lewis’ wonderful book The Big Short. In it, Lewis recasts the financial crisis as a tale of heroism, where three rogue investors peer through the fog of moral recklessness and embarrassing incompetence that was the financial service sector circa 2008, and decide to short the market. They were right, of course, and they make away with ... Read More
Does buying gold make you a bad person? (Markets Overview)
There’s been a lot of volatility in the markets since April; investors and economists are nervous about an impending “double dip” that will send America and the world into another economic gloom. In my opinion, President Obama should turn his attention towards the stability of the global economic system. Granted, the President seems to be responding to the fact that ... Read More
How a finance internship changes your politics
Your first day at the bank and you’re kind of nervous. After all, your concentration in anthropology and Vault Guide readings might not have provided you with enough background to actually be a productive human being. But at the office, the analysts are friendly and act interested about your thesis. The higher-ups are charismatic, if not enigmatic. They like you! ... Read More
Don’t blame BP
I’ve been following the BP oil spill situation with some interest, and I think that America has gotten it all wrong. The anti-corporation, anti-business sentiment is nothing new. Neither is the anti-big oil sentiment. But on closer inspection, this kind of attitude makes very little sense, and the way that the media is feeding into it (in some cases) just ... Read More
The Dangers of Direct Democracy
In Federalist No. 63, James Madison wrote that the defining principle of American democracy, as compared to Athenian democracy, “lies in the total exclusion of the people in their collective capacity.” But since Madison wrote those words, several direct-democratic institutions have been introduced into American politics. California became the first state to adopt a ballot-initiative process in 1911, enabling citizens ... Read More
