Washington Post: “Despite a world-altering pandemic, the number of American households struggling with hunger remained nearly constant last year, buoyed by significant federal safety net programs, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Agriculture Department. However, food assistance programs may not have reached populations equally, according to the report, as food insecurity during… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Economy
The Hardest Thing to Accept About COVID Right Now
Slate – Shannon Palus “…It’s month 20 of covering the pandemic, living through the pandemic, living with everyone else who is living through the pandemic too. Even as things are so much better—the vaccines are highly effective in the important ways—they are still very bad. You only have to glance at the hospitalizations, or turn… Continue Reading
Why You Might Not Be Returning to the Office Until Next Year
The New York Times: “In the nearly 18 months since the pandemic first forced companies to send their employees to work from home, the date companies have planned to bring workers back to offices has changed again and again. First it was January, a full year after the coronavirus first surfaced in China. January slipped… Continue Reading
Companies Need More Workers. Why Do They Reject Millions of Résumés?
WSJ – “Automated-hiring systems are excluding many people from job discussions at a time when additional employees are desperately needed. Companies are desperate to hire, and yet some workers still can’t seem to find jobs. Here may be one reason why: The software that sorts through applicants deletes millions of people from consideration. Employers today… Continue Reading
Bosses turn to ‘tattleware’ to keep tabs on employees working from home
The Guardian: “…Remote surveillance software like Sneek, also known as “tattleware” or “bossware”, represented something of a niche market pre-Covid. But that all changed in March 2020, as employers scrambled to pull together work-from-home policies out of thin air. In April last year, Google queries for “remote monitoring” were up 212% year-on-year; by April this… Continue Reading
Automated hiring software is mistakenly rejecting millions of viable job candidates
The Verge: “Automated resume-scanning software is contributing to a “broken” hiring system in the US, says a new report from Harvard Business School. Such software is used by employers to filter job applicants, but is mistakenly rejecting millions of viable candidates, say the study’s authors. It’s contributing to the problem of “hidden workers” — individuals… Continue Reading
This is the perfect ransomware victim, according to cybercriminals
ZDNet: “On Monday, KELA published a report on listings made by ransomware operators in the underground, including access requests — the way to gain an initial foothold into a target system — revealing that many want to buy a way into US companies with a minimum revenue of over $100 million. Initial access is now… Continue Reading
The Big Four Legal Arms Are Growing, But Don’t Panic
Artificial Lawyer: “A new report by LexisNexis has outlined just how far the Big Four’s legal arms have grown in recent years. What also has changed is their strategy. As Harvard Law School’s David Wilkins explains in the study: ‘The last time they tried to enter the legal profession in the 1990s, their strategy was… Continue Reading
You can buy stuff online, but getting it is another story
Vox: “The global supply chain is in hot water. The pandemic has made it notoriously difficult for shoppers to buy certain consumer goods, from home appliances and furniture to laptops and bicycles. And things aren’t getting better anytime soon, at least not this year. Shipments have been delayed, raw materials are in short supply, and… Continue Reading
The US Budgetary Costs of the Post 9/11 Wars
20 Years of War – A Costs of War Research Series, Watson Institute of Public and International Affairs, Brown University: “The United States has appropriated and is obligated to spend an estimated $6.4 Trillion through Fiscal Year 2020 in budgetary costs related to and caused by the post-9/11 wars—an estimated $5.4 Trillion in appropriations in… Continue Reading
Edelman Trust Barometer 2021
“After a year of unprecedented disaster and turbulence – the Covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis, the global outcry over systemic racism and political instability – the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals an epidemic of misinformation and widespread mistrust of societal institutions and leaders around the world. Adding to this is a failing trust ecosystem unable… Continue Reading
Role of the Supreme Court in generating or avoiding systemic risk
Edwards, Benjamin, Supreme Risk (August 18, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3907534 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3907534 “While many have discussed the social issues that might arise because of a majority-conservative Supreme Court, one critical consequence of the current Supreme Court has been overlooked: the role of the Supreme Court in generating or avoiding systemic risk. For some time,… Continue Reading
