Michael GoldfarbFebruary 13, 2012 07:33

Greek debt crisis: a deal, a riot and some not widely known improving statistics

Despite the chaos Greece's deficit is coming down

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Athens' firemen continue to douse down flames following last night's riots in protest against further massive austerity cuts (ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/Getty Images)

The Greek parliament voted to bite down harder on the austerity bullet and passed a further 3.3 billion euros ($4.4 billion) cuts to government spending. The headline measures were a 22 percent reduction in the minimum wage and another 15,000 government employees being laid off,

On top of that euro zone finance ministers are saying the Greek government must find another 325 million euros in savings if it is to receive an EU funded 130 billion euro bail-out ($172 billion).

No wonder there were violent demonstrations last night.

Greece passes new austerity deal amid violent clashes (VIDEO)

News DeskFebruary 12, 2012 17:30

Greek lawmakers approved harsh new austerity measures after rioting in central Athens

S&P 500 index has first down week of 2012

Samantha StainburnFebruary 10, 2012 19:59

“Investors are responding to the sudden change in direction or the lack of resolution of the Greek/European problem that they felt was resolved,” Frederic Dickson, who helps oversee $28 billion as chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Ore., told Bloomberg Businessweek.

Greece strike (PHOTOS)

Daniel DeFraiaFebruary 10, 2012 11:42

Here are photos of the Greek strike.

Greece starts 48-hour general strike

Tim FitzsimonsFebruary 10, 2012 08:23

Unions called the new austerity measures a "tombstone" for Greece, which has been rocked by austerity cuts and protests for months.

Michael GoldfarbFebruary 10, 2012 07:14

Coming Apart? European experience of illegitimate births is different than America's

Controversial author Charles Murray's new book points to births out of wedlock as a reason for social decay in America. Europe's experience says illegitimacy may not be the reason.

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Not all families are traditional, like President Obama's, but is the decline in their number behind America's social crisis? (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

The works of conservative intellectual Charles Murray are designed to provoke debate and raise hackles among liberal intellectuals. His book "The Bell Curve" is the best-known example, along with "Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences." He is an ice-cold flame-thrower as this radio interview from a couple of years ago shows.

He's at it again, in the just published, "Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010." Much of the discussion of the book has centered on Murray's statistical dissection of the white working class, particularly family breakdown as measured by births out of wedlock.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has an interesting discussion of the book here, and at least partially tips his liberal hat towards a point Murray makes.

Greek debt crisis: a deal, a riot and some not widely known improving statistics

Greece passes new austerity deal amid violent clashes (VIDEO)

S&P 500 index has first down week of 2012

Greece strike (PHOTOS)

Greece starts 48-hour general strike

Coming Apart? European experience of illegitimate births is different than America's

Greece reaches austerity deal

Greece reaches deal on austerity

Can Mario Monti stave off disaster in Italy?

In a major reversal, European Central Bank could help ease Greek debt