What we’re reading (6/2)
“The Perverse Politics Of Inflation” (Paul Krugman, New York Times). “[O]verheating isn’t unique to the United States. While some economists believe that European inflation is almost entirely due to transitory disruptions — something many people, myself included, wrongly believed about the United States a year ago — my read of recent European data suggests that it has also seen a rise in underlying inflation, despite not having pursued U.S.-type fiscal expansion.”
“Internal Documents Show Amazon's Dystopian System For Tracking Workers Every Minute Of Their Shifts” (Vice). “Infamously, Amazon punishes and sometimes fires warehouse workers who it believes are wasting time at work. A new filing obtained by Motherboard gives detailed insight into how Amazon tracks and records every minute of "time off task" (which it calls TOT) with radio-frequency handheld scanners that warehouse associates use to track customer packages.”
“Might I Suggest Not Listening To Famous People About Money?” (Vox). “Amid the current crypto crash, many people are a little miffed at the celebs who have been shilling for this stuff. Gwyneth Paltrow, Tom Brady, Reese Witherspoon, and even Larry David were all happy to assist in the mainstreaming of cryptocurrencies in recent months, only to go quiet now that the going has gotten a little tough. For Matt Damon, “fortune favors the brave” … who are apparently not brave enough to say maybe it was a bit of an oops to try to get regular people to gamble their hard-earned money on hyper-speculative assets.”
“Their Cryptocurrencies Crashed The Market. Now They’re Back At It.” (Washington Post). “When two cryptocurrencies crashed roughly three weeks ago, the effects were devastating. Their collapse sparked over $500 billion in losses in the broader crypto market. Numerous investors saw their life savings evaporate. Others contemplated suicide. People called for criminal investigations into the company behind it all and government regulation for the larger market. But now the team behind the failed coins are back at it.”
“What Are College Students Paying For?” (Quillette). “Today, many of the core works in any field can be found online for free. And many college lectures are available online to anyone. Students can often get much better guidance on navigating the books from the myriad free online sources than from the one person who happens to be their professor. Thus, the monopolies that colleges once had on publications and expertise have largely crumbled.”
