Category: economics

2024’s Top Geopolitical Risks

On By Rick McIn bad news, economics, ethics, GOP USA, government, human rights, IslamLeave a comment

January 2024.

Even if Trump loses the election, the USA will be further divided and destabilized through the election cycle, exactly what Xi, Putin, and the rest of American enemies want.

I’ve been trying to avoid coverage of Gaza — as it’s so depressing.

In fact, I gave up on that issue decades ago concluding that successive Israeli governments were horrible — and successive Palestinian governments even worse. My friend Mike taught school in Libya and Egypt for many years, coming away very sympathetic for innocent Palestinians.

NOW I find myself brought up to speed by listening to an excellent podcast interview with Ian Bremmer.

Search “Conversation with Ian Bremmer — 2024’s Top Geopolitical Risks”

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Not as good — but similar — is his recent TED talk.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (43min)

As a happy Canadian, I didn’t suffer in any way from the G.W. Bush recession of 2008 nor Trump’s incompetent 4 years — and I MIGHT survive another 4 years of the emotional toddler as President.

But I’m worried about 2024.

As Bremmer points out, once Trump gets the GOP nomination, all Republicans will have to fall in line with that idiot — or vote for Biden.  Or NOT VOTE.

As for Russia, as Economist said at the very beginning, there’s no scenario where Russia wins their invasion of Ukraine. Even if they eventually control all of that nation, the population will be uncooperative with Putin for decades to come. The rest of the world will be leery of Putin-land for decades. Russian assets will stay frozen. And at least a million Russians who fled the nation will mostly not return.

NATO is much strengthened, as well.

When Abortion is Denied

On By Rick McIn economics, education, ethics, GOP USA, government, happiness, health & fitness, human rightsLeave a comment

Diana Greene Foster is a professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

She led the ten-year nationwide Turnaway Study analyzing the health and wellbeing of women who seek abortion in the United States — including those who do not receive one — and in 2020 published a book, The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied—an Abortion, on her findings.

In 2023, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in recognition of her scientific work, including the book and more than 120 scientific papers. …

In 2022, she was recognized as one of the ten people who shaped science that year by Nature.

One of the most expert in the field.

Here’s a fascinating new TED Talk. Unsurprisingly, the women forced to carry a child to term have worse consequences than those who have the freedom to make the choice to abort.

Anti-choice advocates in the USA often simultaneously deny raises in minimum wage, health care for children, maternity leave, and even free school lunch. Pro birth. But not pro life.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Abbott Elementary – season 2

On By Rick McIn economics, education, GOP USA, government, humour, TVLeave a comment

Hilarious mockumentary sitcom.

Season 2 is still charming.

Abbott Elementary stars 4 ft 11 inch (149.9 cm)​​ Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues, a perpetually optimistic second-grade teacher at the underfunded Abbott Elementary, a predominantly Black school in Philadelphia. 

William Stanford Davis as Mr. Johnson, the school’s eccentric, overqualified and talented, custodian is my favourite character.

It’s an insight into the American public school system. ReTrumplicans insist on reducing funding for public education, while subsidizing rich kids in private schools.

The GOP later complains about crime when these same underfunded kids can’t make it in a nation with poor health care and a $7.25 / hour minimum wage.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

For kids, this is a silly show making fun of teachers.

For adults, there are many funny little details. This typical school group photo, for example. 😀

The Taylor Swift Economy

On By Rick McIn economics, GOP USA, musicLeave a comment

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is the biggest in history.

… Kanye who? 😀

Business students will study how she built this music empire.

If you are a Republican strategist, your worst nightmare is Taylor Swift campaigning for Biden. Her fans are even more fanatic than Trump’s deplorables.

I’m a fan girl myself, but wouldn’t pay to see the show LIVE. Too expen$ive.

I will see the movie.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

related – How Taylor Swift became the world’s biggest pop star, again

Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow

On By Rick McIn books, economics, governmentLeave a comment

One of the best books I’ve read so far in 2023.

Cory Doctorow is one of the most respected Tech pundits. Super smart. Incredibly well spoken.

Too smart for school. Though he attended 4 universities — he never got a degree. 😀

His novel called Red Team Blues (April 2023) is a financial thriller about cybersecurity.

Martin Hench is an entertaining character. 67-years-old. Steeped in Silicon Valley. In this book, Martin makes $300 million in just a few days. Then ends up penniless and homeless in the tent cities of San Francisco.

The story is merely a vehicle for Cory to reflect on the current state of technology and politics. I learned a lot.

‘Enshittification’ of the Internet

On By Rick McIn blogs Rick reads, economics, ethics, Facebook, Google, internet, TwitterLeave a comment

Cory Doctorow is without question one of the smartest and most eloquent of Tech pundits.

… an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books. Some common themes of his work include digital rights management, file sharing, and post-scarcity economics. …

HERE IS HOW platforms die: First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die. …

I call this enshittification, …

Amazon, Facebook, Tiktok. All of them.

The Google search engine app on my phone is totally ‘enshittified’ — nobody could appreciate so many inappropriate advertisements.

Wikipedia is not enshittified.

Why?

It’s not based on advertising. Ads are the main reason the internet is getting enshittified.

I don’t suffer much because I have every ad blocker known to man working in the Chrome browser. I rarely see ads, except on my phone.

Facebook ads are hardest to avoid.

I pay for YouTube Premium to avoid ads in the middle of my videos.

Click through to read the article for yourself:

The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok

I Voted NDP by Mail

On By Rick McIn economics, education, ethics, GOP USA, government, human rightsLeave a comment

As I was going to be out of town on Alberta election day — May 29, 2023 — I voted by mail. Early.

And It was easy to vote by mail. I could write in the candidate running in my riding, or the Party.

I was voting against the unelected premier Danielle Smith as she’s untrustworthy and a rightwing whacko. The NDP is the only alternative that MIGHT form the next government so I voted for Rachel Notley.

I joined the provincial Party, as well.

IF unelected whacko Danielle Smith manages to lose in historically conservative Alberta, she’ll certainly claim a BIG LIE as she’s a fan of Trump and DeSantis.

Of course Trump voted by mail multiple times in recent years, while simultaneously claiming mail fraud in any state he lost. 😀

Here’s my putting my ballot in the mailbox.

Carbon Capture in 2023

On By Rick McIn climate change, economics, education, good news, health & fitness, things getting betterLeave a comment

Optimists like me keep hoping smart people will figure out how to start reducing the CO2 in the atmosphere.

There is hope.

And Carbon Capture looks to be a huge future business. Young people should be studying this technology in University.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

WHY so much poverty in the USA?

On By Rick McIn bad news, books, economics, ethics, GOP USA, government, human rightsLeave a comment

I feel the GOP USA has only one overriding goal ➙ make the rich, richer.

To that end they don’t want to improve education, health care, nor raise the minimum wage.

Greedy Americans are why there’s so much poverty in the most affluent nation of the world.

Green River, Utah

The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author of Evicted, Matthew Desmond, reimagines the debate on poverty, making a new and bracing argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it.

The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy.

Why?

Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages? …

Private opulence, public squalor: How the U.S. helps the rich and hurts the poor

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

My First Dentures … 🦷

On By Rick McIn about Rick, economics, government, health & fitnessLeave a comment

I now have 2 dentures.

The upper looks good. And is not all that uncomfortable. It does require some concentration to speak clearly. And I do have to eat … differently.

The bottom is larger and much less comfortable. I’m hoping it gets better seated over time. The denturist made some adjustments after a couple of weeks. That has helped. Some.

I’ll go back again in 6 months.

My remaining REAL bottom teeth are in rough shape, as well. I’ll probably have to do something with them in the next couple of years.

One downside with dentures is that you must remove and clean them at night. Put them back in place in the morning.

I do recommend my Denturist Vlad Dumbrava. FutureSmiles, Calgary. Two locations.

Vlad guesstimated the total work at about CAD $3000 — and that Alberta government insurance for Seniors of low income would cover about $2500. That sounded GREAT to me.

He also agreed to rush the top temporary denture so I could travel. And install the other denture on my return to Calgary.

Final ACTUAL cost to me: $648.

I had 5 teeth extracted, as well, in order to make room for the dentures. Those seems to have been 100% covered by my insurance.

Hopefully I can learn to live with dentures. I’m still considering it an experiment.

There are other more expensive options.