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The Maryland Politician Who Is Arguing for a Four-Day Workweek [Caroline Mimbs Nyce, The Atlantic]

By Spencer Chen
In [The Atlantic]
February 11, 2023
280 views
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• Maryland State Capitol building is the only state capitol to have served as the nation’s capital.
• Maryland lawmaker Vaughn Stewart has proposed a four-day workweek bill to create a five-year experiment with $750,000 in tax credits for Maryland businesses.
• Stewart believes that the four-day workweek is the future and is connected to the original American dream of increased productivity and less work.
• The bill is supported by 92% of Americans and has attracted more attention than any of Stewart’s other bills.
• The bill is not without criticism, with some libertarians arguing that the state should not meddle in private businesses.
• Stewart believes that the bill is necessary to improve the quality of life for Marylanders and that it is not a large expense in the grand scheme of the state budget.

Published February 11, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read Caroline Mimbs Nyce’s original post The Maryland Politician Who Is Arguing for a Four-Day Workweek

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The US Labor Market Was Stronger Than We Thought [Joseph Politano, Apricitas Economics]

By Spencer Chen
In Joseph Politano [Apricitas Economics]
February 4, 2023
277 views
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• US added more than half a million jobs in January, exceeding consensus forecasts and notching the largest monthly increase in nonfarm payrolls since July.
• Revisions to growth over the last year represent the largest sign of strength in the labor market.
• Employment has now more than fully recovered in all major industry groups except Leisure & Hospitality and Government.
• Wage growth continues to decelerate, with private industry wages growing 5.1% over the year ending in Q4 and average hourly earnings for private-sector workers growing 4.4% over the year ending in January 2023.
• Unemployment rate has sunk to its lowest level since 1969 and prime-age employment rates remain just 0.4% below pre-pandemic peaks.
• Sectors that had demand pulled forward during the early pandemic—tech, transportation, warehousing, homebuilding, and manufacturing—are holding up better than previously thought.
• The share of working-age adults with a job is still slightly below the 80.6% notched just before COVID, significantly below the 81.9% achieved in the late 1990s.
• Comprehensive data on wages and benefits from the Employment Cost Index shows wage growth decelerating significantly over the last two quarters.
• Chair Powell and the FOMC acknowledged the start of disinflationary process at their meeting this week, stressing that they don’t believe they have done enough to contain inflation yet.

Published February 4, 2023
Visit Apricitas Economics to read Joseph Politano’s original post The US Labor Market Was Stronger Than We Thought

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Kroger workers allege massive wage theft: “I’m tired of having to beg” [Tesnim Zekeria, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen
In [Popular Information]
January 31, 2023
159 views
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• Rodney McMullen, CEO of Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the country, launched “MyTime” in 2022, claiming it would simplify day-to-day work.
• Since its roll-out, MyTime has caused a host of problems, including missing pay and incomplete checks, leaving many workers unable to pay rent or bills.
• Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Kroger from coast-to-coast, accusing the grocery giant of wage theft.
• Kroger claims to have resolved most issues, but UFCW President Marc Perrone says thousands across the country have still not received their most recent paycheck.
• Kroger workers are low-wage and vulnerable, with a 2022 study finding that 75% of surveyed workers across three regions were food insecure and 14% were homeless or had been homeless in the previous year.
• Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh has asked for resources to educate workers about their rights and hire more investigators to handle claims.

Published January 31, 2023
Visit Popular Information to read Tesnim Zekeria’s original post Kroger workers allege massive wage theft: “I’m tired of having to beg”

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Reversion to Reality: How Big Tech Impacts the Economy [kyla scanlon, Kyla’s Newsletter]

By Spencer Chen
In Kyla Scanlon [Kyla's Newsletter]
January 26, 2023
285 views
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• Tech layoffs are happening in a horrible way, with no communication, locked badges, and broken email access.
• There are multiple reasons for the layoffs, including tech bloat, ad sales, higher interest rates, AI, and planned obsolescence.
• The layoffs are sending a message to the market that the end of profligacy is here.
• The economy is a force within itself, and it’s questionable if the Fed rate hikes have even worked their way through yet.
• We need to evolve from focusing on bits to refocusing on atoms.
• We need to exercise empathy and compassion to understand the pain of others and help them.
• Big Tech layoffs can feel removed from reality, but we must strive to have perspective and care for those affected.
• Empathy and compassion are key to understanding and helping those in need.
• Mary Oliver and Barbara Alice Mann offer advice on how to teach children to appreciate the world and be devoted to it.
• U.S. fiscal stimulus has caused excess inflation, and Lael Brainard is a top contender for the National Economic Council.

Published January 26, 2023
Visit Kyla’s Newsletter to read kyla scanlon’s original post Reversion to Reality: How Big Tech Impacts the Economy

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Tech Layoffs, Big Tech’s Hiring Rates, Microsoft’s VR Layoffs [Ben Thompson, Stratechery]

By Spencer Chen
In Ben Thompson [Stratechery]
January 24, 2023
234 views
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• Tech layoffs are popularly thought to be due to over-hiring during the pandemic, but there is little evidence that tech companies over-hired based on past rates.
• Apple has been better positioned than many rivals to date due to slower hiring during the pandemic and a focus on hardware products.
• Amazon has seen the most dramatic increase in employee numbers over the last decade due to the build-out of its owned-and-operated logistics network.
• Microsoft’s recent layoffs are not an indication that the company is abandoning its metaverse strategy, but rather a shift away from hardware and towards being available on all platforms.

Published January 24, 2023
Visit Stratechery to read Ben Thompson’s original post Tech Layoffs, Big Tech’s Hiring Rates, Microsoft’s VR Layoffs

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Remote Work Shifts Costs From Management Onto Employees [Freddie deBoer, Freddie deBoer’s Substack]

By Spencer Chen
In Freddie deBoer
January 22, 2023
185 views
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• In the past decade, many services have been created to reduce people’s exposure to other human beings, which people are willing to pay a premium for.
• Remote work shifts financial burdens that once fell on employers onto employees, yet employees don’t complain and even celebrate.
• This has caused a crisis with office space downtown and a deepening of America’s structural housing crisis.
• Remote workers are spending extra money on rent or mortgage for extra space, which is essentially a $12,000 haircut in their total annual compensation.
• People should think critically about what they’re giving up and what they’re now paying for themselves.

Published January 21, 2023
Visit Freddie deBoer’s Substack to read Freddie deBoer’s original post Remote Work Shifts Costs From Management Onto Employees

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What Even is a “Mild” Recession? [kyla scanlon, Kyla’s Newsletter]

By Spencer Chen
In Kyla Scanlon [Kyla's Newsletter]
January 19, 2023
262 views
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• Everyone is anticipating a recession, but no one knows when or how it will come.
• The consensus is that it will be a mild recession, like a splinter in your finger – something annoying but manageable.
• The Scoville test for the economy is an imprecise measurement based on human subjectivity.
• Data points such as industrial production falling, retail sales falling, and the Empire manufacturing index falling to its lowest level since May 2020 are all signs of a slowdown in the economy.
• The Fed is unlikely to budge despite the caution signs, and the worry is that they will go too hard.
• On the other hand, there are some inflationary pockets such as China reopening, labor market gaps, and bond investors going hog wild for bonds.
• It will be a delicate balance between the Fed, the labor market, consumer health, and housing.
• There is a general level of acceptance that rugged individualism distorts how we think about the economy, and if we can create a world where people are taken care of, it will be net positive for everyone.
• Pepsi CEO believes labor costs will be the source of inflation, rather than commodities
• Labor market is expected to remain tight
• This is due to the recent increase in minimum wage and providing insurance to workers who work 24 hours/week

Published January 19, 2023
Visit Kyla’s Newsletter to read kyla scanlon’s original post What Even is a “Mild” Recession?

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Secretary jobs in the age of AI [Noah Smith, Noahpinion]

By Spencer Chen
In Noah Smith [Noahpinion]
January 17, 2023
213 views
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• The secretarial role has shifted since the start of the Industrial Revolution and is expected to continue to do so in the age of AI.
• Hollis Robbins predicts that secretaries could be in demand in the AI-driven future, not as administrative assistants, but as confidantes and advisors.
• The mid-20th century Gibbs training speaks to the competence, intelligence, and cultivation expected of top secretaries.
• Self-secretarying has contributed to office fragmentation long before remote work.
• A good secretary will use ChatGPT to help manage information flow but will focus most working hours on tasks that are unique to each leader.
• A good executive assistant will more than make up the deficit of a $120,000 salary.
• The role of the secretary provides a real springboard for leadership and is fulfilling in and of itself.
• Colleges and universities could play a role in training students to practice skills that AI can’t deliver and that employers value.
• The idea of posting a job ad for a “secretary” sounds comically old-fashioned, but to be the person literally entrusted with secrets seems fundamentally more accurate to the role.

Published January 17, 2023

Visit Noahpinion to read Noah Smith’s original post Secretary jobs in the age of AI

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Is the Fed hiking too fast? [Noah Smith, Noahpinion]

By Spencer Chen
In Noah Smith [Noahpinion]
January 14, 2023
255 views
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• Inflation is slowing but still above target, with headline inflation very low and core inflation moderate but above target.
• Many are worried about a recession, with an inverted yield curve being a decent predictor of slowing economic activity.
• The labor market is still strong, with payrolls adding 223,000 jobs in December and the prime-age employment-population ratio still around 80%.
• The Fed started hiking rates in March 2022, but some argue that the rate hikes haven’t had time to affect the economy yet and are unnecessary.
• Research is divided on how long it takes for rate hikes to have an effect, with some studies predicting a hump-shaped effect and others predicting a gradually increasing impact.
• It’s possible that fiscal policy is playing a role in the moderation of inflation, with deficits closing in late 2021 and disposable personal income stopping being anomalously high around the same time.
• As long as the trend continues, the Fed will likely taper off its rate increases, with the conquest of the post-pandemic inflation underway.

Published January 14, 2023. Visit Noahpinion to read Noah Smith’s original post.

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“Director of First Impressions”: How corporations use phony titles to dodge billions in overtime [Judd Legum, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen
In [Popular Information]
January 11, 2023
294 views
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• Corporations are giving workers in low-wage jobs fancy-sounding titles in order to evade the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and deny them overtime pay, resulting in $4 billion in overtime payments avoided annually.
• To be exempt from overtime pay, an employee must pass three tests: the salary basis test, the salary test, and the duties test.
• Misclassifying workers to evade overtime pay laws is illegal but not uncommon, with a 485% increase in the usage of managerial titles for salaried employees just above the salary threshold set in the Federal Labor Standards Act.
• Major companies such as JPMorgan, Avis Budget Car Rental, and Walmart have been ordered to pay millions in back wages and damages for misclassifying employees and failing to pay them overtime.
• The companies with the highest percentage of “overtime avoiding positions” include Arby’s, Sonic Drive-In, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Jiffy Lube, Burger King, GNC, H&R Block, Dairy Queen, Subway, Jimmy John’s, Little Caesars, Office Max, and KFC.

Published January 11, 2023. Visit Popular Information to read Judd Legum’s original post.

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