Summarizing Thomas Piketty’s voluminous research in his new book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” the NY Times said that looking back, we have overstated the beneficence of capitalism and looking forward, gross income inequality is our destiny unless policies radically change.…
The Best Reason For Women to be on Corporate Boards
Our Monday Gender Issue: Last year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had long opposed female quotas on corporate boards, capitulated. Ms. Merkel’s labor minister, a physician and mother of 6, held firm to demands that her boss accept quotas. Merkel…
Which Countries Want You to Have a Baby?
It is a recipe for demographic disaster when you have too many old people and not enough babies. The problem is the size of the working age population. When countries like the US are affluent enough to provide support to…
The Reason the Price of Gasoline Has That 9/10
If you asked me how much I pay for gas, I would say $3.49 a gallon. Actually, though, the sign says $3.499. And that means, because the gas station rounds up, I am paying $3.50. Doesn’t $3.50 sounds like a lot…
China’s Demographic Flipflop
The wait list for the most popular retirement home in China has topped 10,000. With 1100 available beds and just 11 beds emptying annually, it could take 100 years for someone to get a spot. Part of the problem is…
Why Should Tesla Stay in New Jersey?
At my local New Jersey shopping mall, there is a Tesla store… I think. It might have closed. During the 1920s, the auto industry and local governments agreed that the way to sell a car was through a network of…
How To Cope With (Water) Stress
Being water stressed means you are unusually vulnerable to a water shortage. Sort of like a household where one emergency can push it over the edge because it spends all it earns, so too with most water stressed nations. That one drought…
Should the Word “Glass” Belong to Google?
Neither raisin bran nor shredded wheat are names that Kellogg’s can trademark. And yet Apple has trademarked “Apple.” Should Google be able to claim “glass?” Several days ago, the U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office told Google that “Glass” was “merely…
Gender Issues: What If We No Longer Said “He” and “She”?
Our Monday Gender Issue: In the February 10th issue of the New Yorker, I read “Pronoun Envy” by Anne Carson. Here is the beginning: Pronoun Envy “is a phrase coined by Cal Watkins of the Harvard Linguistics Department in November…
One Reason That Quitting is Good
I have read that Fed Chair Janet Yellen is particularly interested in JOLTS. Representing Job Openings and Labor market Turnover Survey, JOLTS data tell an interesting story. You can see how the trend in job openings parallels the Great Recession…
