economic

15Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Fight For Economic Equality Is As Old As America Itself

Americans are increasingly worried about the rising tide of economic inequality, as fewer control more wealth. For the origins of these concerns, commentators usually point to the Gilded Age at the end of the 19th century, when a few men gained immense wealth and power in the U.S. and workers suffered extreme poverty. But fears of great wealth and the need for economic equality go back to the country’s origins. In a 1775 cartoon, a British cartoonist mocks how wealthy elites were compelled by ordinary Americans to respect trade and price regulations. Philip Dawe/Wikimedia Commons Wealth as a danger to the nation By the 1700s, Anglo-Americans generally believed that the best government was a republic that would ensure the public good by avoiding concentrated wealth. The British political t...

Without Stopping Putin’s Assault On Ukraine – Economic Sanctions May Make Russians’ Lives Worse

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Without Stopping Putin’s Assault On Ukraine – Economic Sanctions May Make Russians’ Lives Worse

The economic sanctions levied upon Russia as a consequence of its invasion of Ukraine target the Russian economy and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest personal and business associates. The goal is to alter domestic politics within Russia, ultimately stopping Putin’s aggression. Yet our research into how economic sanctions affect the behavior of dictators indicates the sanctions are likely to increase political repression in Russia and hurt average Russians’ economic security – without stopping Putin from pulverizing Ukraine. Personal rule Putin rules Russia with what political scientists like us call a personalist dictatorship. This term means that the leader has more power than the political party that backs him, and more than the military and security forces. In Russia, Putin ...

In First 4 States To Do So Legalizing Recreational Pot May Have Spurred Economic Activity

2Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS

In First 4 States To Do So Legalizing Recreational Pot May Have Spurred Economic Activity

Banking activity in the first four U.S. states to make recreational marijuana legal grew significantly more than in other parts of the country despite federal laws that prohibit financial companies from any involvement with cannabis, according to our new study. This isn’t to suggest that banks illicitly benefited from the burgeoning pot business by taking deposits from cannabis companies or giving them loans. Our data doesn’t back that up – and those practices remain illegal under federal law. Rather, we believe our findings suggest legalization may have spurred more economic activity generally. Using data from regulatory filings, we compared the deposits and loans of banks in the first four legalizing states – Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon – with those in every other state. We...

Study Finds – Students From Struggling Economic Backgrounds Sent Home With Food For The Weekend Have Improved Test Scores

24Aug

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EDUCATION

Study Finds – Students From Struggling Economic Backgrounds Sent Home With Food For The Weekend Have Improved Test Scores

Education Michael Kurtz, Lycoming College The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea When food banks work with schools to send children home with a backpack full of food over the weekend, they do better on reading and math tests, I found in a recent study. These effects are strongest for younger and low-performing students. In the peer-reviewed study published in December 2020, my co-authors – Karen Conway and Robert Mohr – and I explored how weekend feeding programs, also known as “backpack” programs, affected end-of-grade tests in reading and math for third, fourth and fifth graders in North Carolina. These types of programs began independently in 1995 in a single school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Since then, Feeding America – a national network of...

MacKenzie Scott’s $8.5 Billion Commitment To Social And Economic Justice Is A Model For Other Donors In 5 Ways

16Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MONEY

MacKenzie Scott’s $8.5 Billion Commitment To Social And Economic Justice Is A Model For Other Donors In 5 Ways

Elizabeth J. Dale, Seattle University The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced on June 15, 2021, that she and her husband Dan Jewett had given US$2.7 billion to 286 organizations, including universities, arts organizations and other nonprofits. It was her third announcement of this kind since she first publicly discussed her giving intentions in May 2019. Scott has donated about $8.5 billion to a constellation of nonprofits she calls “high-impact organizations in categories and communities that have been historically underfunded and overlooked.” She’s emphasizing racial justice, women’s rights and LGBTQ equality. The $5.8 billion Scott gave to charity in 2020 amounted to nearly 2% of the $324 billion donated by individuals over the course of the year. In early 2021, she ...

4 Essential Reads: A Jolt Of Economic Relief – The US Delivers $1.9 Trillion

12Mar

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS

4 Essential Reads: A Jolt Of Economic Relief – The US Delivers $1.9 Trillion

The U.S. economy and millions of people struggling because of the pandemic are about to get a US$1.9 trillion jolt of stimulating relief. On March 10, the House of Representatives approved a version of President Joe Biden’s coronavirus package that barely squeezed through the Senate. Both votes were almost entirely along party lines. Biden signed the bill into law on March 11. The legislation includes $1,400 relief checks for most Americans, an extension of the $300 supplement for the unemployed, a more generous child tax credit and much more. We turned to our archive to provide some context on this historic legislation. 1. About those $1,400 checks Among the signature – and most popular – features of the package are the $1,400 payments most Americans will soon receive. There was some w...

The Best Way To Help Workers And Preserve FDR’s Legacy – Ensuring The Minimum Wage Keeps Up With Economic Growth

1Mar

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS

The Best Way To Help Workers And Preserve FDR’s Legacy – Ensuring The Minimum Wage Keeps Up With Economic Growth

The US$1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that the House just passed includes a gradual increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. While its chances in the Senate appear slim, the proposal has brought national attention to the minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009. Supporters argue a higher minimum wage would translate into higher incomes for millions of low-wage employees, such as restaurant waiters, retail salespeople and child care workers, and thereby lift a lot of people out of poverty. Opponents claim it would hurt businesses and lead to a lot of job losses. As an economist who studies labor markets and income inequality, I believe both claims exaggerate the impact and miss a key point of what the minimum wage is meant to achieve. The current deba...

MacKenzie Scott’s $5.8 Billion Commitment To Social And Economic Justice Is A Model For Other Donors

18Dec

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BUSINESS, IN OTHER NEWS

MacKenzie Scott’s $5.8 Billion Commitment To Social And Economic Justice Is A Model For Other Donors

The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced on Dec. 15 that she had given almost US$4.2 billion to hundreds of nonprofits. It was her second announcement of this kind since she first publicly discussed her giving intentions in May of 2019. In July 2020, Scott revealed that she’d already given away nearly $1.7 billion to 116 organizations, many of which focused on racial justice, women’s rights, LGBTQ equality, democracy and climate change. All told, her 2020 philanthropy totals more than $5.8 billion. Scott directed her latest round of giving to 384 organizations to support people disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. She made dozens of gifts to food banks, United Way chapters, YMCAs and YWCAs – organizations that have seen increased demand for services and, in...

Economic hardship from COVID-19 will hit minority seniors the most

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Economic hardship from COVID-19 will hit minority seniors the most

For Americans 60 and older, COVID-19 is widespread and deadly. Its economic impact could also be devastating. With a recession fast developing, much of the attention on the downturn focuses on working-age adults, but many older Americans – with less time to make up for financial losses – will suffer the most. I am a clinical professor of gerontology. My co-author is a research fellow in gerontology. We believe that recent history, specifically the Great Recession of 2008-09, will demonstrate what’s at stake. In a series of research briefs using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we analyzed the financial status of Americans 60 and older before and after that recession. We reviewed the data from a wide variety of demographic groups: non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, and H...

Hit ’em where it hurts – how economic threats are a potent tool for changing people’s minds about the Confederate flag

17Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Hit ’em where it hurts – how economic threats are a potent tool for changing people’s minds about the Confederate flag

Activists nationwide have resumed demanding the removal of statues and symbols that are considered racially offensive – such as of slave owners, Confederate leaders and the Confederate flag. The requests – and related boycotts and threats of other economic protests – have been part of the national controversy about racism in American life and have sparked questions about how to recognize traumatic elements of U.S. history. Typically, the debate about the role of Confederate imagery in public life is seen as a political, social or racial issue. But in recent research, we discovered that economic concerns could be effective in shifting Southerners’ attitudes about Confederate symbols. Public officials and individual citizens alike are more likely to oppose the presence of Confederate symb...