Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Category Archives: Economy

See Which States Are Reopening and Which Are Still Shut Down

The New York Times – “In Georgia, barbers are giving haircuts armed with face masks and latex gloves. In Texas, movie theaters are filling with customers, who crunch on popcorn several seats away from the nearest stranger. People are sweating at gyms again in Tennessee. America’s reopening has begun in force, just weeks after the… Continue Reading

Internet Lessons from COVID19 by Vint Cerf

MEDIAMANA – “[This article is a part of an online symposium on the value of Internet Openness at the time of COVID19. The symposium is a joint outcome of the Internet Governance Forum coalition on Net Neutrality and Community Connectivity. Read all the articles in the symposium here.] The novel SARS-COV-2 virus that leads to… Continue Reading

CRS – How Social Security Benefits Are Computed

How Social Security Benefits Are Computed: In Brief Updated May 13, 2020 – “Social Security,the largest program in the federal budget (in terms of outlays), provides monthly cash benefits to retired or disabled workers and their family members as well as to the family members of deceased workers. In 2019, benefit outlays were approximately $1,048… Continue Reading

Tracking Federal Awards in States and Congressional Districts Using USAspending.gov

LC CRS Reports – Tracking Federal Awards in States and Congressional Districts Using USAspending.gov, May 11, 2020: “USAspending.gov, available to the public at https://www.USAspending.gov, is a government source for data on federal awards by state, congressional district (CD), zip code, city, and county. The awards data in USAspending.gov is provided by federal agencies and represents… Continue Reading

For Bookstore Owners, Reopening Holds Promise and Peril

The New York Times – For Bookstore Owners, Reopening Holds Promise and Peril – “Across the country, booksellers are wrestling with how to safely open their stores. Some are racing ahead. Others feel it’s too risky. Among retail businesses, bookstores, especially smaller independent stores, face particular challenges as they navigate reopening. Many indies occupy cramped… Continue Reading

The Global Pandemic and Run on Shadow Banks

KC Fed Economic Bulletin – Rajdeep Sengupta, Economist and Fei Xue, Research Associate, May 11, 2020 | “In March, the global coronavirus pandemic led to a period of financial stress in which credit conditions tightened at an unprecedented pace. Elements of this stress period can be explained as a classic run on “shadow banks”—nonbank financial… Continue Reading

The Four Men Responsible For America’s COVID-19 Test Disaster

Rolling Stone – “The White House’s inability to track the disease as it spread across the nation crippled the government’s response and led to the worst disaster this country has faced in nearly a century – Despite months of alarms that the coronavirus was lurking at our doorstep, the Trump administration failed to mount an… Continue Reading

Employers Rush to Adopt Virus Screening. The Tools May Not Help Much.

The New York Times – Symptom-checking apps and fever-screening cameras promise to keep sick workers at home and hinder the virus. But experts warn they can be inaccurate and violate privacy: “…But as intensified workplace surveillance becomes the new normal, it comes with a hitch: The technology may not do much to keep people safer.… Continue Reading

Artificial Intelligence Is Driving A Silicon Renaissance

Forbes: “The semiconductor is the foundational technology of the digital age. It gave Silicon Valley its name. It sits at the heart of the computing revolution that has transformed every facet of society over the past half-century. The pace of improvement in computing capabilities has been breathtaking and relentless since Intel introduced the world’s first… Continue Reading

Bookshop.org earns more than $1 million for indie bookstores

LA Times via Yahoo – “In the wee hours of Monday morning, Bookshop.org — an online bookseller whose goal is to offer financial support to independent bookstores — earned $1 million for local bookstores across the country struggling to survive during the pandemic. Earlier this month, Bookshop partnered with Simon & Schuster in a campaign… Continue Reading

NY Fed Paper Finds Pandemic A Century Ago Fueled Nazi Rise

WSJ.com: “Nazis rose to power in Germany in part because of dislocations caused by a mass-death pandemic a century ago, research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday said. The paper, written by bank economist Kristian Blickle, examined how the German political system reacted to the influenza pandemic that struck the world between… Continue Reading