In early 2020, the CARES Act was passed in response to severe negative macroeconomic effects stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the United States. One of the biggest media talking points centered around the passage of a $1,200 stimulus payment, designed to be distributed over the coming months and help increase consumption. These stimulus payments … More Econ in the News: Stimulus Checks (and Debit Cards)
Premium wages. Company picnics and events. Subsidized housing. And brand recognition at some of the hottest companies to work for. I’m not describing tech companies. I’m talking about blue-collar jobs in the 20th century. The rise and fall of early private welfare capitalism in the United States, plus a little economic history, shows key parallels … More Programmers are the Blue-Collar Workers of the 21st century
There are no “black swan” events, only lack of imagination. … More The Myth of the Black Swan
A novel coronavirus believed to have originated in Wuhan, China has grown into a full-scale pandemic over recent months. In addition to China, hotspots have been growing in South Korea, Iran, Italy, and the United States, in addition to dozens of other countries which are now reporting infections. From an economic perspective, what COVID-19 crisis … More Econ in the time of Coronavirus
My spring trip to the Big Island of Hawaii was the first “spontaneous” trip I had taken, thanks in part to two key motivators. First, a friend of mine alerted people to Southwest opening it’s new Hawaii routes, with prices starting as low as $49 one-way. Second, another friend (and my freshman roommate), Evan, was … More 2019 Reflections Part 3: Big Island Hawaii
For three months, I had no classes to rush off to, no midterms to study for, no work obligations, meetings, or deadlines for deliverables. My Master’s degree was complete, I had a full-time job lined up, and I found myself with the luxury of time. Of course, I didn’t enter into my extended Spring Break … More 2019 Reflections Part 2: (Super) Senior Spring
During the last week of 2018, I set aside some time for a lengthier personal reflection. Over the course of the upcoming year, I knew that I’d be transitioning from the life of a college student to working full-time in the business world, and I wanted to make the most of this end and beginning. … More 2019 Reflections Part 1: Winter Quarter Adventures
LinkedIn’s preeminence as a “professional” social network has changed the paradigm for maintaining connections in the business world. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for LinkedIn’s Groups feature. I’ve often felt that Groups has so much potential as a key feature for LinkedIn, but various issues hinder its usefulness. For this modified teardown, I’ll give … More Product Improvement – LinkedIn Groups
The NCAA recently opened the door to allowing college athletes to be compensated for the use of their likeness, names, and images. In a statement, the board of governors for the NCAA has officially begun the process, although the exact details remain uncertain. I won’t dive too much into arguments for or against compensating student-athletes … More Econ in the News: NCAA and Athlete Pay
I can be very bad with email, but perhaps not in the way that you might think. Some people carry a massive “email debt” — tens of thousands of emails piled up in their accounts that they know they’ll never read. I, on the other hand, check my email very frequently. If I see over … More Living with (Email) Uncertainty
