our economics correspondent, paul solman, talked to a leading player in all of this, part of his reportingng sense" of financial news. >> reporter: capping off the best year of job growth since 1999, the economy added just over a quarter million jobs in december, helping push the official unemployment rate down to 5.6%. the numbers validated our having asked a key federal reserve official (earlier in the week) the quintessential policy question about restraining growth before it gets out of hand: so when, when will you start raising rates. that's the question everybody like me asks, that people like you never answer, right? >> no, i, you know i-- you know the answer is gonna depend on the data. >> reporter: john williams has good reason to diplomatically dodge. he's president of the federal reserve bank of san francisco, fed chair janet yellen's old job, and his take on interest rates can move markets, since he now gets to vote on rates at fed meetings. we spoke to him this week at the annual economics convention, where he gave a talk on the fed's dual mandate: keeping inflation low while

paul solman, reporting for the pbs newshour. >> woodruff: we've all heard the adage "all politics is local," but more and more it's becoming digital. case in point: this week's efforts by the white house to promote the president's state of the union agenda on social media sites like facebook, twitter and youtube. as part of that push, mr. obama was interviewed today by youtube stars-- people with large followings on the video-sharing site. he made had some news in this exchange: >> do you think that same-sex marriage will be legalized in all of the united states during the time that you're in office? >> the supreme court now is going to be taking on a case. my hope is that they go ahead and recognize what i think the majority of people in america now recognize, which is two people who love each other-- >> yes. >> and are treating each other with respect and aren't bothering anybody else, why would the law treat them differently? i'm hopeful the supreme court comes to the right decision. >> she has about three million youtube subscribers. >> woodruff: one of the issues facing anyone t

our economics correspondent paul solman, has the story. part of his ongoing reporting "making sense" of financial news. >> clap once. clap twice. put up your right hand. put up your left hand. put up your right hand. >> reporter: this is the kipp infinity middle school in new york city's harlem, where, in addition to the three "r's," these predominantly poor fifth graders study character to maximize success in later life: qualities like grit and gratitude. optimism and curiosity. zest and social intelligence. and one skill above all. >> what is this talking about don't eat the marshmallow? brithany in the back. >> self control. >> ok, so we're talking about self control. >> reporter: in fact, they've been talking about self control since the first day of school, when teacher leyla bravo-willey gave all of her students the marshmallow test. >> they come in, they have a marshmallow in front of them and they're looking around like: what? what is this? >> reporter: this is among the most famous experiments in the history of psychology with imp

tonight, economics correspondent paul solman takes a look at how to fulfill those perhaps by now already burdensome new year's resolutions. >> i really want to learn how to nilt. >> stay better organized. i'm going to create a schedule. >> try to combat procrastination and focus a little more. >> save more money. >> going to work harder. that's pretty much it. >> and how are you going to do that? >> so new year's resolutions. people make them. and just about as often, they break them. why? >> because they're formulated in a way that is a general good intention but it's not a plan. >> if there is a man with a plan for leading us not into temptation it's psychologist walter michelle. author of the marshmallow test mastering self-control. and by mastering it working harder saving more. key factors in economic success. the book is based on half a century of research by michelle and others that began with a simple experiment. now among the most famous and replicated in the history of psychology. >> there's a marshmallow. you can either wait and i will bring you back another one so you can hav

and so, your conflicted economics correspondent paul solman, reporting for the pbs newshour. >> woodruff a jordanian pilot. jordan demanded proof that the pilot is still alive before it releases a convicted terrorist. three american contractors were killed by an afghan soldier, at a military base in kabul. and investigators in indonesia said flight recordings show the co-pilot was flying the air-asia jet that stalled and crashed last month killing all on board. >> ifill: on the newshour online right now, christine sun kim creates interactive sound installations. using her voice and a variety of materials like piano wire. but the artist has been deaf since birth. she spoke to us through her interpreter, about her artwork. watch that video on our home page. all that and more is on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. on friday, we'll have our second story from sundance. from on-demand to the silver screen. how the business behind independent films is shifting. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. we'll see you on-line, and again here

our economics correspondent, paul solman, tells us about an unusual performer who's tapped into a vein. of his reporting on "making sense" of financial news. >> ♪ inflation is such a mystery, everything's too expensive for me. ♪ ♪ ( laughter ) >> reporter: a comedy club inflation tear-jerker from a boston fulbright scholar with a unique take on china's economy. jesse appell, a standup sensation here in, of all places, beijing. >> reporter: at a chinese restaurant back in boston appell, though he's no economist, presented his credentials. >> i'm pretty sure that i'm the best macro-economic, chinese/english, bilingual rapper in the world. >> reporter: and not just rap but macro-economic comedy in general, which has earned appell both a unique view of a china in jarring economic transition, and an upper middle class income there, some $30,000 a year. appell's income comes from comedy gigs, prompted by tv appearances. and how did he make it onto chinese tv? by producing internet videos, like "laowai style," that have attracted millions of chinese viewers to this young american's sometimes