Here is your R&D for December 28th:
US public schools are going broke, yet some spend like a kid in a candy store from the Christian Science Monitor
In this opinion piece, Walt Gardner, a former teacher in Los Angeles, discusses how school districts are not budgeting properly in these tough economic times and are squandering the confidence of taxpayers.
Non-US banks gain from Fed crisis fund from the Financial Times
Revelations that more than half of the Federal Reserve’s aid to the banking industry went to non-U.S. banks has angered Americans and will likely bolster critics of the Fed on Capitol Hill.
Opposition to the Euro Grows in Germany from Der Spiegel
Germans are worried about the euro and fear that Europe’s financial crisis may cause the country to give away its financial sovereignty to the European Union. All of this is a major problem for German Chancellor Angela Merkel as she seeks to shore up support for the common currency.
Russia rebuffs Western criticism of oil tycoon’s trial from the Washington Post
Russia has criticized Western condemnation of the guilty verdict for oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Khodorkovsky was found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering in a trial that Western observers believe was politically motivated.
Don’t Spare the Boomers from Newsweek (courtesy of RealClearPolitics)
In his weekly column, Robert Samuelson of Newsweek discusses the problems facing America’s finances because of the retirement of the baby boomers. According to Samuelson, sacrifice is needed by the boomers if America is to remain fiscally solvent and if younger Americans are to retain their current standards of living.