Current Affairs: “Paywalls are justified, even though they are annoying. It costs money to produce good writing, to run a website, to license photographs. A lot of money, if you want quality. Asking people for a fee to access content is therefore very reasonable. You don’t expect to get a print subscription to the newspaper gratis, why would… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Economy
How to block out digital distractions and get work done
Popular Mechanics – It’s easy to lose focus when the whole internet is at your fingertips. “Working from home is a blessing and a curse—you get the freedom to work how you want, but the temptation to slack off is strong. It’s easy to stick to your job when your boss is breathing down your… Continue Reading
Poll – Despite Mask Wars, Americans Support Aggressive Measures To Stop COVID-19
NPR – “With the national death toll from COVID-19 passing the grim 150,000 mark, an NPR/Ipsos poll finds broad support for a single, national strategy to address the pandemic and more aggressive measures to contain it. Two-thirds of respondents said they believe the U.S. is handling the pandemic worse than other countries, and most want… Continue Reading
Coronavirus Brings American Decline Out in the Open
Bloomberg Opinion – Noah Smith: Without fixes for infrastructure, education, health care and government, the U.S. will resemble a developing nation in a few decades. “The U.S.’s decline started with little things that people got used to. Americans drove past empty construction sites and didn’t even think about why the workers weren’t working, then wondered… Continue Reading
Ransomware: Your biggest security headache refuses to go away
ZDNet – “Ransomware has been around for more than three decades, so it’s hardly an unexpected threat. And yet, organisations large and small are still being taken completely by surprise by the file-encrypting malware, leaving them to decide between rebuilding many of their computer systems from scratch to rid themselves of the ransomware or paying… Continue Reading
How the Pandemic Defeated America
The Atlantic – A virus has brought the world’s most powerful country to its knees. “…Despite ample warning, the U.S. squandered every possible opportunity to control the coronavirus. And despite its considerable advantages—immense resources, biomedical might, scientific expertise—it floundered. While countries as different as South Korea, Thailand, Iceland, Slovakia, and Australia acted decisively to bend… Continue Reading
Employment Effects of Unemployment Insurance Generosity During the Pandemic
Employment Effects of Unemployment Insurance Generosity During the Pandemic. Joseph Altonji, Zara Contractor, Lucas Finamor, Ryan Haygood, Ilse Lindenlaub, Costas Meghir, Cormac O’Dea, Dana Scott, Liana Wang, and Ebonya Washington, Tobin Center for Economic Policy Yale University. July 14, 2020. Abstract: “The CARES Act expanded unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by providing a $600 weekly payment… Continue Reading
Age Discrimination across the Business Cycle
Age Discrimination across the Business Cycle. Gordon B. Dahl Matthew M. Knepper. NBER Working Paper No. 27581. Issued in July 2020: “A key prediction of discrimination models is that competition in the labor market serves as a moderating force on employer discrimination. In the presence of market frictions, however, recessions create excess labor supply and… Continue Reading
Report highlights shell company loophole that could be abused by foreigners who want to interfere in U.S. elections
Issue One: “Shell companies that give money to super PACs could be conduits for foreign money in the 2020 election, warns a new report published today by Issue One. Under current law, super PACs are permitted to collect contributions of unlimited amounts, but must disclose their donors. In some cases, their campaign finance disclosures list… Continue Reading
Libraries vs Bookstores? No, False dichotomy. They are different Animals
Brewster Kahle’s Blog – Internet Archive: “There is a recent written attack on libraries that I find odd and somewhat dangerous– libraries overlap too much with new-book bookstores. At first I thought it was trolling, but I now believe it is sincere. More worrisome is that anti-library lobbying is generally growing in strength but their attacks on… Continue Reading
Rite Aid deployed facial recognition systems in hundreds of U.S. stores
Reuters Investigation: “Over about eight years, the American drugstore chain Rite Aid Corp quietly added facial recognition systems to 200 stores across the United States, in one of the largest rollouts of such technology among retailers in the country, a Reuters investigation found. In the hearts of New York and metro Los Angeles, Rite Aid deployed the… Continue Reading
‘Instagram can hurt us’: Mark Zuckerberg emails outline plan to neutralize competitors
The Verge – Antitrust panel says the messages show Zuckerberg trying to buy out his competition: “…The emails between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and chief financial officer David Ebersman were revealed today during the House antitrust subcommittee’s hearing on antitrust issues in tech, as Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) questioned Zuckerberg about the Instagram acquisition. The… Continue Reading
