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from AlterNet
Like Gregor Samsa, the never-to-be-forgotten character in Franz Kafka's story "The Metamorphosis," we awoke on January 7th to discover that we, too, were "a giant insect" with "a domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments" and numerous "pitifully thin" legs that "waved helplessly" before our eyes. If you prefer, though, you can just say it: we opened our eyes and found that, somehow, we had become a giant roach of a country. Yes, I know, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are now in charge and waving their own little limbs wildly, trying to do some of what needs to be done for this sad land of the disturbed, over-armed, sick, and dying. But anyone who watched the scenes of Floridians celebrating a Super Bowl victory, largely unmasked and cheering, shoulder to shoulder in the streets of Tampa, can't help but realize that we are now indeed a roach nation, the still-wealthiest, most pandemically unmasked one on Planet Earth.
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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, non-profit organization
More than 15% of the money allocated goes to long-standing partisan policies, including some shocking allocations that have nothing at all to do with the pandemic.
‘Only about 1 percent of the entire package goes toward COVID vaccines, and 5 percent is truly focused on public health needs surrounding the pandemic,’ the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget warned on Wednesday. At least $300 billion of the bill’s spending, 15 percent, is allocated toward partisan policy priorities that have nothing to do with the COVID-19 pandemic.
If we’re lucky, Bezos's example will inspire millions of more entrepreneurs in the 21st century.
Jeff Bezos announced earlier this month he'll soon step down as the CEO of Amazon. As he leaves his perch from atop one of only two trillion-dollar companies that have ever existed, it's worth reflecting on his legacy—a consumer revolution that empowered billions of individuals.
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from HumanProgress.org
Education Website
Introducing the city at the heart of the first Industrial Revolution.
Our twenty-second Center of Progress is Manchester during the first Industrial Revolution (1760-1850). Sometimes called “the first industrial city,” Manchester epitomized the rapid changes of an era that transformed human existence more than any other period in history. Manchester was among the earliest cities to experience industrialization. The city’s metamorphosis wasn’t easy, as it entailed working and living conditions far below those that we are used to today. But Manchester ultimately helped to uplift humanity by paving the way to the post-industrial prosperity that so many of us now enjoy.
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from Mises Institute
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, MIXED
The Problem with the "Robber Barron" Narrative
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, MIXED
The Problem with the "Robber Barron" Narrative
The purge of conservative and libertarian voices on social media was, as Ron Paul put it, "shocking and chilling, particularly to those of us who value free expression and the free exchange of ideas." People from the conservative side of the aisle, but also others, have called for solutions like antitrust laws regulation of social media even to downright nationalization of Big Tech companies. Comparisons are made with the so-called robber barons in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. According to popular "wisdom," people like John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and others made profits due to immoral and unethical competition practices that granted a monopoly status to their companies. Now, just like in the past, government needs to step in to protect the consumer, who is being exploited. These comparisons don't help the case for government regulation of Big Tech if we take a close and honest look at the history of antitrust laws.
China has not been spared heavy criticism about its growth mode since it joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. Leading the choir of discontent, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) claimed that “high savings are at the heart of China’s external and internal imbalances.” Other mainstream pundits also believe that China’s mercantilist policy was the main contributor to a global savings glut that depressed international interest rates and inflated asset bubbles all over the world, including in the US. This convenient shift of blame for the root cause of the Great Recession is actually misleading. China has indeed piled up large current account surpluses and international forex (foreign exchange) reserves, but they were not financed with a transfer of real savings from the rest of the world. It was the lax monetary policy of the Fed and other major central banks that financed the purchase of Chinese goods, drove down interest rates to record-low levels, and fueled an unsustainable boom, triggering the Great Recession.
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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
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When Congress passed the original CARES Act in March 2020, “free” money for COVID relief flooded across the country for distribution by states, counties and municipalities. Facing “use it or lose it” deadlines, it was a struggle to figure out how to spend it in time. It’s hard to give away money without irritating someone. When it’s government money, it’s impossible – the best test of doing it well is probably if there’s something for everyone to be mad about.
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from Vox
LEFT BIAS, HIGH, Media/News Company based in Washington, D.C.
People have applauded local organizing efforts in cities like Austin, Dallas, and Houston, in the face of a lacking government response.
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