What we’re reading (10/19)
“Boeing, Union Reach Wage Deal To End Strike” (Wall Street Journal). “The company is offering a 35% wage increase over four years in its latest proposal. That is up from its original offer of 25% that was overwhelmingly rejected by a union local representing machinists in the Pacific Northwest who build most of Boeing’s jets.”
“The Secretive Dynasty That Controls The Boar’s Head Brand” (New York Times). “In May 2022, the chief financial officer of Boar’s Head, the processed meat company, was asked a simple question under oath. ‘Who is the C.E.O. of Boar’s Head?’ ‘I’m not sure,’ he replied. ‘Who do you believe to be the C.E.O. of Boar’s Head?’ the lawyer persisted. The executive, Steve Kourelakos, who had worked at the company for more than two decades and was being deposed in a lawsuit between owners, repeated his answer: ‘I’m not sure.’ It is odd, to say the least, when a top executive of a company claims not to know who his boss is.”
“Global Government Debt To Surpass $100 Trillion For The First Time” (Semafor). “Global public debt will exceed $100 trillion this year for the first time, and will likely continue to rise from there. A new International Monetary Fund report showed that government borrowing will reach 93% of global GDP by the end of the year and near 100% by 2030 — exceeding a pandemic-era peak of 99%, and 10 percentage points up from 2019.”
“Netflix Keeps Getting Sued Over True-Crime Shows. It’s Thirsty For More.” (Business Insider). “Netflix's thirst for crime fare…shows no sign of letting up, according to Business Insider's interviews with agents and producers, as well as commissioning data from Ampere Analysis.”
“What’s In The Water? Long-Run Effects Of Fluoridation On Health And Economic Self-Sufficiency” (Adam Roberts, Journal of Health Economics). “Community water fluoridation has been named one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century for its role in improving dental health. Fluoride has large negative effects at high doses, clear benefits at low levels, and an unclear optimal dosage level. I leverage county-level variation in the timing of fluoride adoption, combined with restricted U.S. Census data that link over 29 million individuals to their county of birth, to estimate the causal effects of childhood fluoride exposure. Children exposed to community water fluoridation from age zero to five are worse off as adults on indices of economic self-sufficiency (−1.9% of a SD) and physical ability and health (−1.2% of a SD). They are also significantly less likely to graduate high school (−1.5 percentage points) or serve in the military (−1.0 percentage points). These findings challenge existing conclusions about safe levels of fluoride exposure.”
