经济学人331:共和党的预算草案
THE Republican majority in the House of Representatives called its budget proposal The path to prosperity: A blueprint for American renewal. Whether it would live up to that billing we will never know, as Democratic opposition in the Senate will prev
经济学人332:加勒个油 The New Grease?
WITH the euro crisis in abeyance, high oil prices have become the latest source of worry for the world economy. Oil is the new Greece is a typical headline on a recent report by HSBC analysts. The fear is understandable. Oil markets are edgy; tension
经济学人333:最富1%们究竟何许人也
MITT ROMNEY is not the first multi-millionaire to seek the presidency, nor the richest. Ross Perot, the record-holder, spent some of his billions earned from computer data on losing bids in 1992 and 1996. Since then men who owe their or their familys
经济学人334:活的自由同时多付税款
LAST week the state of Washington began auctioning the licences to 167 of the liquor stores it runs. By June 1st Washington will be out of the liquor business altogether, freeing private businesses to sell spirits in the state for the first time sinc
经济学人335:共和党参选
THE race for the Republican presidential nomination has followed a consistent pattern. Every month or so a candidate emerges from the pack to threaten Mitt Romneys lead, only to drop back after a week or two. It used to be a new challenger each time:
经济学人336:我是一台无处不在的摄像机
BRIAN Lamb could hardly be a more unlikely media entrepreneura modest and civilised man in a world with more than its fair share of egomaniacs and vulgarians. But he was a great one nonetheless. He came up with the idea of C-Span in the late 1970s wh
经济学人337:仅仅因为他是黑人?
IT TOOK a month or so, but the killing of Trayvon Martin, a teenager who was shot in Florida in late February, has developed into a predictable political circus. Barack Obama has opined on it, as have the Republicans hoping to wrest the presidency fr
经济学人338:"宝瓶"时代
Deep-sea exploration 深海探索 The age of Aquarius 1 宝瓶时代1 Inner space is almost as hard to explore as outer space 探太空难，察深海亦不易 Have you seen Camerons latest? 卡梅隆的新作你看了吗？ JAMES CAMERON knows how t
经济学人339:"拯救"大型购物中心
THE old Rackspace headquarters was stuffed to the gills. In 2007 the company, which offers cloud-computing and web-hosting services, had more than 1,000 employees in downtown San Antonio. People were crammed at folding tables in the hallway. They oft
经济学人340:加州的海水淡化
IF CALIFORNIA were not already so famous for Silicon Valley and Hollywood, it might be renowned for the cluster of water-technology firms in its San Diego County. The reverse-osmosis (RO) spiral module, the trick that underpins turning sea- and waste
经济学人341:拯救灯塔
IN 1989 Edward Kennedy tried to stop time. The United States Coast Guard was preparing to automate and remove all remaining personnel from the old lighthouse in Boston Harbour. But Kennedy, a liberal senator from a family with deep roots in Boston, s
经济学人342:纽特·金里奇的竞选——败局已定
WHEN Newt Gingrichs presidential campaign foundered last summer, leading to the mass resignation of his staff and reports that his campaign debt exceeded $1m, the problem was not that he seemed to prefer luxury cruises through Greece and Turkey with
经济学人343:汽车城熄火抛锚(1)
APART from more money, what the city of Detroit needs most is certainty. Both are in short supply at the moment. On March 21st a state-appointed review team unanimously agreed that it is suffering a severe financial emergency. The day before, Moodys
经济学人344:汽车城熄火抛锚(2)
The mayor of Detroit, Dave Bing, has seemed keen to negotiate a consent agreement between the city and the state. This would avoid a takeover, but would still set out exactly how the city must extricate itself from the crisis and manage itself in fut
经济学人345:奥巴马的非正式时间
THE difference between Barack Obama, leader and Barack Obama, campaigner is in the sleeves. When Mr Obama speaks as the presidentsober, calm, head of a nationhe tends to encase them in a suit jacket. When he speaks as a candidatefiery, enthusiastic,
