In light of Covid-19, an MIT study looks at tradeoffs between economic value and public health, across different types of retail:”A new study by MIT researchers uses a variety of data on consumer and business activity to tackle that question, measuring 26 types of businesses by both their usefulness and risk. Vital forms of commerce… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Economy
CDC Finally Posts Guidelines for Activities as States Reopen
These guidelines were released on Friday, June 12, 2020. Yet around the country states and localities had previously ended restrictions on many activities, indoor and outdoor, as well as reopening of commerce – stores, restaurants, and other businesses. The CDC was far behind the curve in providing requisite federal guidelines prior to re-openings that have… Continue Reading
The Economist Democracy Index 2019
“The twelfth edition of the Democracy Index finds that the average global score has fallen from 5.48 in 2018, to 5.44. This is the worst average global score since The Economist Intelligence Unit first produced the Democracy Index in 2006. Driven by sharp regressions in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, four out of the five… Continue Reading
Larger Businesses and COVID-19 – Financial Relief and Assistance Resources
CRS report via LC: Larger Businesses and COVID-19: Financial Relief and Assistance Resources Updated June 11, 2020: “This CRS Insight presents selected resources and CRS products potentially relevant to medium and large businesses directly affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic seeking economic relief and assistance. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)… Continue Reading
Libraries are needed more than ever
USA Today – But many aren’t sure how to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic – “…Just 37% of libraries plan to reopen by July, according to a recently released survey from the American Library Association. Nearly half of the nation’s libraries – 47% – do not have plans to reopen their doors to the public anytime soon,… Continue Reading
Trump trashes 50-year-old environmental law, blames coronavirus
grist – “With the nation’s eyes on ongoing protests for racial justice (not to mention a seemingly endless public health crisis), last week President Trump signed an executive order that would waive key requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The landmark 1970 law requires federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of proposed… Continue Reading
What If Working From Home Goes on … Forever?
The New York Times – Miserable as it can often be, remote work is surprisingly productive — leading many employers to wonder if they’ll ever go back to the office. “…In a May working paper, Erik Brynjolfsson, a professor in management science at M.I.T., and a group of academics reported survey results indicating that half… Continue Reading
CIO Council report recommends improvements to federal IT hiring
FedScoop – “…More than 80% of the federal IT workforce is older than 40, per federal data cited in the report. Of the remaining population, just over 3% is younger than 30, and agencies continue to struggle to attract and hire younger IT talent to fill in this gap. The “Future of the Federal IT Workforce Update” report… Continue Reading
‘Morally Impossible’: Some Advertisers Take a Timeout From Facebook
The New York Times – “Ever since Mark Zuckerberg defended the platform’s hands-off policy toward posts by President Trump that contained misinformation or promoted violence, some companies are staying away…Unlike Twitter and Snap, which have toughened their stances against Mr. Trump’s online statements that contain misinformation or promote violence, Facebook has held firm on its… Continue Reading
Senate Report – FCC failed to monitor Chinese telecoms for almost 20 years
ars technica: “The Federal Communications Commission and other US agencies have failed to properly oversee Chinese telecom companies that operate in the United States, according to a bipartisan Senate report released today. After a year-long investigation, the staff report by the US Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations “found that the FCC and ‘Team Telecom’—an informal… Continue Reading
Poll – Large majority of Americans back protests and say police need to change
Washington Post: “Americans overwhelmingly support the nationwide protests that have taken place since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, and they say police forces have not done enough to ensure that blacks are treated equally to whites, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll. President Trump receives negative marks… Continue Reading
NYT – Coronavirus Map: Tracking the Global Outbreak
The New York Times Coronavirus Database: “The coronavirus pandemic has sickened more than 7,117,200 people, according to official counts. As of Tuesday morning, at least 406,500 people have died, and the virus has been detected in nearly every country, as these maps show. The coronavirus pandemic is ebbing in some of the countries that were… Continue Reading
