Damn Kids

Greece becoming new Kosovo as youth jobless hits 65%

"Latest data from the Greek statistics agency showed the overall jobless rate rose to 27.6pc in May, despite a mass exodus of the best-educated young workers to the US, Australia, Britain and Germany. The figure is likely to rise further as Athens lays off 15,000 public sector workers by the end of next month to comply with European Union-International Monetary Fund (EU-IMF) Troika demands. EU economics chief Olli Rehn said Greek austerity was 'difficult but necessary', and should bear fruit in 2014. The IMF expects public debt to spiral to 176pc this year, and has warned EMU creditor states that they will have to provide substantial debt relief." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreece becoming new Kosovo as youth jobless hits 65%

Teen Killed by Taser, Cops Laugh & High-Five Each Other (Israel Hernandez) – Exclusive Interviews

"We Are Change headed to Miami Beach -- the site where Israel Hernandez was killed after being tased by Miami Beach Police. Exclusive interviews were conducted with Israel's best friends, who were with him the night he was caught drawing a small amount of graffiti on an abandoned building that was already covered in street art. According to his best friends/eye witnesses, after Israel was tased and apparently dead, the cops were laughing and 'high-five-ing' each other." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTeen Killed by Taser, Cops Laugh & High-Five Each Other (Israel Hernandez) – Exclusive Interviews

Civil Unrest Coming to America

"The 'start-up job rate' in our country – the number of jobs in newly created American companies – has fallen during the Obama administration to 7.8 per 1,000 people, a 31% decline from the first President Bush. Those missing jobs and the resulting impact on unemployed youth are the kindling that ignites fiery riots. When our unemployed youth reach the point where they perceive that they have little left to lose, well it will be London and Stockholm and Athens all over America. That’s a when, not an if. The question I wonder is how America will react. Will the riots be enough to change the stupor in Washington?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCivil Unrest Coming to America

IMF sees no end to French jobless crisis this decade

"The IMF said the jobless rate will rise yet further to 11.6pc in 2014 and will not drop below 10.6pc within Mr Hollande’s five-year term. If this grim scenario unfolds, it will be a political hammer blow for Mr Hollande. He asked the nation to judge him on his record in 'bending the unemployment curve'. The Fund said efforts to bring down the budget deficit should focus on spending cuts rather than fresh taxes, 'which are among the highest by international standards and have a negative effect on investment and job creation'. Two-thirds of Mr Hollande’s fiscal squeeze has come from taxes, to the fury of the business lobby Medef." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIMF sees no end to French jobless crisis this decade

Protest over Taiwanese military conscript’s death draws 100,000

"More than 100,000 Taiwanese people took to the streets Saturday in protest over the death of a young conscript who was allegedly abused in the military. Protesters rallied at a square near the presidential office in Taipei, mostly dressed in white — a colour symbolising truth in local culture. It was the second mass protest since Corporal Hung Chung-chiu died of heatstroke on July 4 — apparently after being forced to exercise excessively as punishment for taking a smartphone onto his base — just three days before the end of his compulsory year-long military service." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingProtest over Taiwanese military conscript’s death draws 100,000

In U.S., Fewer Young Adults Holding Full-Time Jobs in 2013

"The barriers for the young getting a job in the U.S. remain high. Given ever growing regulations on employers, coupled with the uncertainty of Obamacare, it just makes it to risky for most employers to be aggressively hiring. Fewer Americans aged 18 to 29 worked full time for an employer in June 2013 (43.6%) than did so in June 2012 (47.0%), according to Gallup's Payroll to Population employment rate. The P2P rate for young adults is also down from 45.8% in June 2011 and 46.3% in June 2010." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIn U.S., Fewer Young Adults Holding Full-Time Jobs in 2013

It is capitalism, not democracy, that the Arab world needs most

"Hernando de Soto, a Peruvian economist, travelled to Egypt to investigate the causes of the Arab Spring. His team of researchers found that Bouazizi had inspired 60 similar cases of self-immolation, including five in Egypt, almost all of which had been overlooked by the press. The narrative of a 1989-style revolution in hope of regime change seemed so compelling to foreigners that there was little appetite for further explanation. But de Soto’s team tracked down those who survived their suicide attempts, and the bereaved families. Time and again, they found the same story: this was a protest for the basic freedom to own and acquire ras el mel, or capital." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt is capitalism, not democracy, that the Arab world needs most

Population trends cloud Europe’s post-recession outlook

"Slowly but unsurely, Europe is facing up to population trends that will sap long-run economic growth. Some countries are getting an early taste of difficulties that await Europe as the continent's baby boomers retire and, because of flagging fertility rates, the average age of those left in the labour force rises. Spain, Portugal and Ireland all lost about 2 percent of their working-age adults between 2010 and the first quarter of 2013, raising the question of who pays for pensions and age-related health care costs in countries that are educating their youngsters only to see many of them emigrate and pay taxes elsewhere." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPopulation trends cloud Europe’s post-recession outlook

Rural Chinese children ‘left behind’ as parents join mass migration to the cities

"For more than 20 years China’s government has encouraged the rural poor to move to cities as a way to boost growth and lift living standards. The country now has 263 million migrant workers, and new leaders who took office this year have renewed the drive to urbanise. But while city wages are higher, so are their costs of living, exacerbated by a 'hukou' residency system that bars Chinese from receiving benefits such as healthcare and schooling outside their registered hometown. Nearly half of left-behind children live with neither of their parents. Almost 70 percent of those stay with grandparents. A quarter have other guardians, and seven percent survive on their own." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRural Chinese children ‘left behind’ as parents join mass migration to the cities