Here’s a commentary on the “Tobin tax.” Does this remind you of the ideas of any nineteenth century economist?

a generation of J.D.’s face the grimmest job market in decades. Since 2008, some 15,000 attorney and legal-staff jobs at large firms have vanished, according to a Northwestern Law study. Associates have been laid off, partners nudged out the door and recruitment programs have been scaled back or eliminated.

But wait, it gets even worse, the NYTimes has just released a disturbing expose on law schools that give students first year tuition scholarships, tell them that they can keep the scholarship as long as they keep their grades at a B level or so, but don’t tell them that many of those recipients lose their grant right quick.

At Golden Gate and other law schools nationwide, students are graded on a curve, which carefully rations the number of A’s and B’s, as well as C’s and D’s, awarded each semester. That all but ensures that a certain number of students — at Golden Gate, it could be in the realm of 70 students this year — will lose their scholarships and wind up paying full tuition in their second and third years.

Think law school is a sure bet to a great career? Read on.

“The situation is so bleak that some students and industry experts are rethinking the value of a law degree, long considered a ticket to financial security. If students performed well, particularly at top-tier law schools, they could count on jobs at corporate firms where annual pay starts as high as $160,000 and can top out well north of $1 million. While plenty of graduates are still set to embark on that career path, many others have had their dreams upended.”

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As UCSC students know, I’m very concerned that they use Facebook and other social networking sites in ways that don’t jeopardize their safety or employment prospects. Jacqui Cheng over at Ars Technica has an excellent guide to best Facebook privacy practices here. Please read it ASAP.

On a more amusing note, here’s a video about the iPad that I found very salubrious.

As a very young child, I was lucky enough to  visit Steeplechase Park just before it closed down in 1964.

I have restored my full blog site. Hopefully it won’t crash again. Information about your courses can be found just to the left of this post.

thanks for your patience, Matthew Lasar