Quotes of the day

In the competition for tight defense dollars, the Army . . . must confront the reality that the most plausible, high-end scenarios for the U.S. military are primarily naval and air engagements -- whether in Asia, the Persian Gulf or elsewhere.--Robert Gates

The shifting winds of consensus lead to the politicization of the [Nobel] economics award.--Noah Smith

New York City's securities industry could lose nearly 10,000 jobs by the end of 2012, New York state's comptroller predicted, a painful blow to the area's economy and government budgets. In a report set to be released Tuesday, Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli also said bonuses are likely to shrink this year, reflecting lower profits on Wall Street.--ANDREW GROSSMAN

Should #OccupyWallStreet cheer at this unemployment, or mourn that the potential source of funds for their list of demands is shrinking?--Cav

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s husband, a real estate developer and investment banker, stands to make millions of dollars in a previously undisclosed residential real estate project in California as a partner with the father of a woman Mrs. Pelosi helped become ambassador to Hungary, records show. Paul F. Pelosi’s investment in Russell Ranch is worth at least $5 million and possibly as much as $25 million in a deal put together by his friend and longtime business associate, Angelo Tsakopoulos, patriarch of a multimillion-dollar real estate development firm, according to Mrs. Pelosi’s latest personal-disclosure statement.--Chuck Neubauer

The issue is not that the less well-off should pay more tax than those 47% who make up what’s likely to be the vast majority of the 99% club’s membership. It’s that the former are busy trying to improve their own lives, bringing others along with them, and the squatters of the Occupy Wall Street crowd are busy doing nothing at all for themselves, preferring instead to take from others.--Neptunus Lex

The one-year scholarships that leave injured kids high and dry, unable to finish college if they are hurt and cut from the team. The NCAA raking in huge royalties for the likeness of players in video games, decades after they have left their teams, and of course the people whose likeness are used get zero.--Tim Kane

In general terms, yes, players do benefit. But that’s not the point. It’s the extent to which they benefit compared to the coaches and other athletic personnel that matters. For example, compare the average salary of NFL players to the average salary of the NFL coach. Then do the same thing for college football players. The Detroit Lions devote about half their revenue to players’ salaries, while down the road a few miles, the University of Michigan pencils in about 10 percent of its revenues for player “salaries.” In a competitive marketplace, these two costs would be much closer to each other. The difference gives you a rough approximation of the exploitation rate.--Allen Sanderson