Commentary on the rise of unwed mothers, Chinese aristocracy, big pay days in financial firms, and the cost of a bailout.

In the United States now more than 50% of children are born to unmarried women under the age of 30. (ed’s note – it is 41% for women over 30).

New York Times -- For Women Under 30, Most Births Occur Outside Marriage
It used to be called illegitimacy.

Related.

New Yorker -- On Contraception and Liberty
Here’s an image that couldn’t not go viral: House Republicans hold a hearing on the Obama Administration’s contraceptive-coverage rule.

Related.

Economist -- The data be damned
THE Obama administration's decision to compel Catholic universities, hospitals and charities to pay for insurance that covers contraception provides a good opportunity to riff off of my colleague's post on opinions that are beyond the reach of data.

Communist aristocracy.

Financial Times -- The princeling set to ascend the Chinese throne
When Xi Jinping was catapulted to the top of the Communist party hierarchy in 2007 the only thing most people in China knew about him was that he was married to a hugely popular military folk singer called Peng Liyuan.

The pay game.

London Review of Books -- The Doom Loop
Andrew Haldane writes about equity and the banking system.

The GM bailout wasn’t cheap.

Calgary Herald -- Public auto bailout cost $474,000 per GM employee
With sales and profits up at General Motors, proponents of the 2009 automotive bailout for GM (and Chrysler) now assert the taxpayer-financed rescue was a success.