Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Why Are So Many People Over 55 Going Bankrupt?
November 4th, 2019Via: MarketWatch: One major factor behind the rise of these bankruptcies: medical debt. In fact, six out of 10 people 65 and older who file bankruptcy do so because they can’t afford to pay their enormous medical bills, Lawless says.
‘Starlink Is a Very Big Deal’
November 3rd, 2019This contains some techno-optimist glossolalia, but it’s the most informative piece I’ve found on Starlink so far. Via: Casey Handmer’s Blog: Starlink, SpaceX’s plan to serve internet via tens of thousands of satellites, is a staple in the space press, with articles appearing every week on the latest developments. The broad schema is clear and, […]
Google Given Green Light for Toronto Smart City
November 2nd, 2019Via: BBC: Sidewalk Labs’s plans to create a smart city in a disused area of Toronto can proceed but on a much smaller scale than it had wanted. Any data the Google-affiliate collects there must be treated as a public asset. Waterfront Toronto, the group charged with overseeing development of the area, voted unanimously for […]
The Race for Quantum Supremacy
November 2nd, 2019Via: Vice:
U.S. Debt Surpasses $23 Trillion for First Time
November 1st, 2019Via: The Hill: The federal government’s outstanding public debt has surpassed $23 trillion for the first time in history, according to data from the Treasury Department released on Friday. Growing budget deficits have added to the nation’s debt at a speedy rate since President Trump took office. The debt has grown some 16 percent since […]
Britain Orders Immediate Moratorium on Fracking Due to Earth Tremor Concerns
November 1st, 2019Via: Reuters: Britain will impose an immediate moratorium on fracking, the government announced on Saturday, saying the industry risked causing too much disruption to local communities through earth tremors. … The decision follows a report on an incident at a site run by British energy company Cuadrilla near Blackpool, northern England where a 2.9-magnitude tremor […]
The Fantasy of Opting Out
November 1st, 2019Via: The MIT Press Reader: Consider a day in the life of a fairly ordinary person in a large city in a stable, democratically governed country. She is not in prison or institutionalized, nor is she a dissident or an enemy of the state, yet she lives in a condition of permanent and total surveillance […]
The Global Fertility Crash
November 1st, 2019There’s a fascinating interactive chart at the link. Via: Bloomberg: At least two children per woman—that’s what’s needed to ensure a stable population from generation to generation. In the 1960s, the fertility rate was five live births per woman. By 2017 it had fallen to 2.43, close to that critical threshold.
NYC Exports Homeless People To Over 350 Cities
October 29th, 2019Via: New York Post: New York City generously shares its homeless crisis with every corner of America. From the tropical shores of Honolulu and Puerto Rico, to the badlands of Utah and backwaters of Louisiana, the Big Apple has sent local homeless families to 373 cities across the country with a full year of rent […]
U.S. Winter-Wheat Acres Set to Drop to Lowest in 110 Years
October 28th, 2019Via: Bloomberg: America’s bread basket looks like it’s going gluten free: Dogged by lower prices and tepid demand, U.S. wheat farmers are poised to plant the fewest acres of winter varieties in 110 years. That’s according to a Bloomberg survey. Analysts are predicting another year of declines for acreage as U.S. producers face stiff competition […]
