Can bananas be saved?

The economics of academia are changing

We all know how high the price of college has reached. But, we don't know where all that money is going. An article in the NY Review of Books says it's not going to the faculty, particularly the adjunct faculty, which in 1969 made up 22% of the total faculty and today is 67%. College administration ballooned by 51% from 1975 to 2005.

I happen to think that a lot of the money goes to athletics, which is becoming a 12-month activity.

Leaving the Nunnery

Fighting the Virus

Nonprofit hospitals do make a profit

At least some of them do. The ten most profitable hospitals include seven  nonprofits; each of the ten earn more than $163 million in total profits. I'm talking about hospitals such as Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Mass General.

The hospitals are designated nonprofit and thus exempt from federal and local taxes in exchange for providing a certain amount of “community benefit.” How a community benefit is defined varies. A 'benefit' can be a community health fair (which is more of a marketing affair. Is staff training a community benefit? Is Medicaid? These are some of the items the hospital can write off as a nonprofit.

The Postal Service does not seem to be a good employer

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has found that the Postal Service does not treat employees who are injured at work very well. About  44,000 employees of these employees were either fired or left their jobs under pressure over a five year period. The Commission further found that the Postal Service discriminated against an additional 15,130 injured workers by changing their work duties or accommodations, and unlawfully disclosed the private medical information of injured workers across the country. 

Because of budget problems the Postal Service began the "National Reassessment Program"  in 2006. The Service developed the program to ensure that injured staff members were doing “necessary work” and to return workers who had recuperated to their original duties. However, the Commission found that the program did not work well as it illegally discriminated against injured workers by creating a hostile work environment, taking away disability accommodations and revealing workers’ confidential medical information. The program was stopped in 2011. But, many of the discharged employees are still fighting the effect it had on them.

Trump prefers Twitter

Perhaps that's why his press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, has not had a formal press briefing for almost a year, 303 days as of today. She has appeared on Fox News, but who's asking the questions there? And it's the questions we want the media to ask so we know the White House's official view of things that are going on.

This is another unpresidential move by Trump.

Listen to the Earth Harp

Slowing down

A different kind of housing

The Rich get richer

Freight shipments are declining

January saw the 14th month in a row of year-over-year declines. The drop this month was almost 10%, which is the worst since 2009.

What does this say for the economy?

How is this possible?

GDP Growth by President

Courtesy of Axios

Are unions coming back?

Unions were a major economic force in the 20th century. Today, they are not. They seemed to be in the news constantly. Now, you seldom see an article about them in the media. But, maybe that will change. Finally, at Kickstarter United the workers have started the first union of full-time white collar employees at a major tech company. Also, it seems that workers across the industry have been ramping up organizing efforts over the past several years. For example, over 2,000 cafeteria workers at Google's Bay Area offices voted to join a union last December and Google contract workers in Pittsburgh voted to unionize last August, while Chicago employees of the food delivery service Instacart also unionized earlier this month.

Talking to the jury via Newsweek

The lawyer for Harvey Weinstein published an op-ed in Newsweek on Sunday. It was addressed to the jury hearing Weinstein's case and urged them “to do what they know is right.” I'm not a lawyer, but this seems odd to me, particularly when all testimony has been heard and the jury is deciding the case. Furthermore, the judge has ordered the defense team not to speak to the news media until after a verdict is reached.

Which are the innovative countries

Remembering the dead

The Boy Scouts are going bankrupt

The claims of sexual abuse have resulted in millions of dollars in legal costs. These claims have been going on since the organization was founded in 1910. They have finally reached a breaking point.

Is this the end of the Boy Scouts of America? The organization has been shrinking. In the 1970s there were more than 5 nillion; nor there a half that despite allowing girls. 

Medicare for All?

Be thankful you're not a woman in India

In India menstruating women are considered impure. They are often excluded from social and religious events, denied entry into temples and shrines and kept out of kitchens. In one college, they have to sit away from others during meals, they have to clean their own dishes, and in the classroom, they are expected to sit on the last bench. Further, the college pulled them out of classrooms and took them to the toilet, where they were asked to individually remove their clothes for inspection.

A few years ago in another school 70 students were stripped naked after blood was found on a bathroom door.

We're not #1 anymore

We have to do more

A pliable body

21st century family

Growing jobs

It's hot in the Antarctic

The temperature reached 65 degrees last week.  A scientist from the World Meteorological Organization said, 'That would make it the hottest temperature that we have seen over the length of record that we have for Antarctica."

The Antarctic is one of the fastest warming regions of the planet  Since 1979, the amount of ice lost annually has increased at least six-fold, largely due to warmer ocean water.

Entertainment?

Maybe it's my age but I found the 'entertainment' section of two major annual tv shows terrible. While football at the Super Bowl was up to par, the half-time show certainly was not. It was loud and nonsensical. As was the opening - and other entertainment - act at the Oscars. Then, the producers made the assumption that we would know everybody who appeared on stage although the names of the musicians (other than Elton John) were unknown to me and, I suspect, most of we seniors.

He likes beer

Courtesy of our Florida correspondent

Here's a bargain

From our Glastonbury correspondent

Farm bankruptcies up 20% in 2009

Here's a car seat you should not buy for your kid

A gym for seniors

Want a bubble tea?

Banks have gotten bigger but stupider

I've written about JPMorgan and some of the stupid things I have experienced with them. U.S. Bank, which claims to be the fifth largest bank in the country, has now made the news by firing two employees who tried to do a good deed.

A customer got a new job and deposited his first pay check of $1,080 into his account at U.S. Bank. For some reason, the bank put a hold on it. Over two days,the customer tried to get access to the money so he could buy presents for his kids. But he was unsuccessful.

So, on Christmas Eve, he finds that he has run out of gas for his car. He calls U.S. Bank and speaks to a senior officer at a call center. She tries to get some money released so he could at least get home. She can't do so. It's Christmas Eve, the guy seems nice, she thinks the bank has screwed up. So, she gets her boss' permission to take a break, leaves work, meets the customer and gives him $20 that her boss had given her.

When she comes to work in the New Year, she gets fired because “She broke the rules, putting herself and the bank at unnecessary risk,” U.S. Bank said in a statement. The bank also fires her manager for approving her trip.

The news got to Nicholas Kristof of the NY Times. He calls the president of U.S. Bank to find out why the bank fired an employee who, with permission, rescued a frustrated customer on Christmas Eve. The bank ignores his call. So, he wrote this column in Sunday's Times. This caused the president to finally call him as the news is sweeping the web.

Are you going to the game?

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