First, from Bloomberg View on Friday, “The Right Dream for Saudi Arabia,” which describes the Deputy Crown Prince’s plan to sell shares in the state oil company and use the proceeds to create a diversified Sovereign Wealth fund, and prescribes a larger agenda: in order to reform its economy, remedy existing problems and plan for a future with less oil wealth, A population accustomed to relying on immigrant labor and government assistance will have to work more and pay taxes.... Read more
I have a couple topics that I intended to write about this yesterday and today, but didn’t get past the “soccer pay equity” post that I had drafted on Friday. Instead, I’ll just tell you about my weekend. Saturday morning started was the District-level Pinewood Derby, which my husband attended with my youngest son. Here’s what they returned home with: Yes, that’s the “design,” not the speed trophy. After that, well, I had planned to go outside and get some exercise,... Read more
That’s the claim in a complaint filed by 5 members of the US women’s national soccer team against the U.S. Soccer organization, protesting wage discrimination because the women’s team was paid nearly four times less than the men’s team, despite the women’s greater success internationally, based on rates for appearances in international competitions, among other factors. Sports Illustrated has a full table of the pay discrepancies. What’s more, according to NPR, Citing U.S. Soccer’s annual financial reports, the complaint says... Read more
They’re everywhere, right now: legislation that either gives individuals the absolute right to use the sex-specific public bathroom of one’s choice (Washington, actually a state Human Rights Commission ruling), or that requires individuals to use bathroom, in public facilities, that corresponds to their genetic sex (House Bill 2 in North Carolina). Two things ought to be obvious: First, that whether you agree with their choices or not, individuals who have taken steps to alter their appearance have, to some degree... Read more
Really, it is. Let’s start with the LA Times reporting on the agreement to hike the minimum wage in California to $15/hour in 2022. The governor’s plan, crafted through weeks of private negotiations among a small group of lawmakers and labor officials, increases the current $10 statewide minimum wage by 50 cents on Jan. 1 to $10.50 an hour. From there, it would rise to $11 in 2018 and subsequent dollar-a-year increases ending at $15 on Jan. 1, 2022. Senate... Read more
They’re everywhere — proposals for a Universal Basic Income, that is. Here’s a proposal for a “basic income” in Latvia. Here’s one for Finland, which seems to be moving forward (though The Guardian says, without further details, that it’s much more limited that various news reports claim). The Swiss will vote on this in June, though it’s not expected to pass. My initial reaction is simply, “there’s no way we, as a country, can afford this” – but such a program... Read more
The title is somewhat misleading: this book is not a detailed history of the One-Child policy but addresses, instead, various aspects of the policy and its consequences, and its connection to Chinese culture, and attitudes toward family, and toward death. To be honest, with respect to China as a political entity and geopolitical force, it’s easy to feel schadenfreude about the future of the not-so-rosy country, even if you feel sympathy for actual Chinese people. Unlike many authors of recent half-memoir,... Read more
My husband’s gun acquisition meant that I have learned a little about the economics of gun ownership. That is, a pistol will run you about $500, give or take. An hour at the shooting range is about $20. The ammunition works out to maybe another $20 per session — my husband’s best guess, anyway, based on ammo prices and how much you’d use in a typical shooting range session. As hobbies go, it’s not outlandishly expensive (on an hourly basis,... Read more
So here’s something I was thinking about: So as I mentioned yesterday, my oldest son plays trumpet in the teen choir at church, which meant that we waited around after mass was over for him to pack up his trumpet and music and help put away the music stands and other equipment. And in that time we, my husband and I, that is, talked to three or four families, parents of kids our kids’ age, or people we know from... Read more
So it’s Easter morning. The bread is in the breadmaker, the kids have finished their (chocolate) Easter egg hunt (yes, even though the oldest is now 15), my youngest has made crescent rolls (from a tube) which are now baking. No big extended-family Easter celebration, as we were at my parents’ not long ago and weren’t up to a drive this weekend, and my oldest son is playing trumpet in the teen choir, besides. But the teen choir mass is... Read more
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