What we’re reading (5/31)
“'This Is Not The Retirement I Envisioned.’ How Retirees Are Getting Hit by Inflation” (CNN Business). “Managing one's finances in retirement is always tricky. But with inflation pushing up the price of everything from gas to housing to eggs, many retirees are cutting back or eliminating certain costs altogether.”
“Tell Your Boss: Working From Home Is Making You More Productive” (Vox). “There is…objective data — like more calls per minute for call center workers, engineers submitting more changes to code, and Bureau of Labor Statistics data on growing output per hours worked — that has generally shown that people are, in fact, more productive working from home. But even the idea that people feel more productive is important…Interestingly, Slack’s Future Forum found that executives are more likely to say they want to work from the office than non-executives, but are less likely to be doing so full time.”
“What's Causing The Big Spike In Car Prices, And How Consumers Should React” (RealClear Markets). “As chief executive of a company that analyzes valuations of thousands of cars and trucks each year, I think consumers would be wise to consider how the economics of vehicle ownership have changed in the past two years of pandemic. They also shouldn’t expect these high prices to last.”
“How did the IR [International Relations] Community Get Russia/Ukraine So Wrong?” (Marginal Revolution). “In proper Tetlockian fashion, I thought I would look back and consider how well IR experts did in the time leading up to the current war in Ukraine. In particular, how many of them saw in advance that a war was coming? And I don’t mean a day or two before the war started, though there were still many commentators in denial at such a late point…Overall, on a scale of one to ten, how would we grade the performance of IR scholars on the Russia-Ukraine war? 2? 2.5?”
“President Biden, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell Meet With Inflation At Its Highest In 40 Years” (Wall Street Journal). “The Tuesday meeting highlighted how much the White House is relying on outside forces to help combat the highest inflation in four decades. Administration officials earlier had played down inflation worries while promoting the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package in March 2021 and in seeking additional spending on healthcare, education and climate change last year.”
