It’s all about the new. Increasingly, the people of the United States want the latest technology; every time tech giants like Apple and Samsung release new devices, hundreds of thousands flock to buy them, often discarding their old devices by simply throwing them in the trash. Everyday, Americans throw out over 350,000 cell phones and […]
Author: Ana Singh
Lights, Camera, Deregulation! Big Banks Get Their Big Break
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tackling one of America’s most dire, pressing issues, Congress turned its attention in March away from passé, low-stakes issues like gun control and immigration to — you guessed it — banking reform. By May 22, the House passed the duplicitously-named Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA), a law that will roll back aspects of the […]
Social Security and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Outlook
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ironically, for the future of retirement, past will not be prologue. In the decades ahead, America will confront some long term trends — among them declining birth rates and life expectancy gains — and we will be forced to reform our essential welfare programs, including Social Security. Because these population trends were less stark in […]
The Truth About MS-13, Trump’s Favorite Bogeyman
Foreign, ruthless, violent — all of these words have been used by President Donald Trump to characterize the gang MS-13 as a threat to the United States of America. Trump has used incendiary rhetoric to lambast the Obama administration for its immigration policies that “allowed criminals to enter the country” and to push forward his […]
Barred from the Ballot Box: Felon Disenfranchisement in America
Six million American adults are legally ineligible to vote, members of a group whose ranks have roughly quintupled over the past 40 years. In Kentucky and Tennessee, this group now comprises more than a fifth of the African American population; in Florida, this group composes more than 10 percent of the adult population. But these […]
Florida’s Sand: Gone with the Wind
If You Can’t Keep Your Own Sand, Store-Bought is Fine Florida, the Sunshine State. The land of white, sandy world-renowned beaches. The beauty of Florida’s beaches has been commemorated since the first Spanish colonial settlement in 1565 to the 21st century, with popular beaches like Daytona and Miami a feature in movies, TV shows, and […]
Red Threatens the Rainbow: the Legalization of Gay Conversion in Brazil
Vibrant flags shot through with glitter, bass-pumped music echoing through the street, flamboyant outfits, public displays of affection, lots of smiles – these are all things ubiquitous at Pride Parades all over the world. Nowhere is the Pride party bigger or better than in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which holds the record for hosting the largest […]
AI (Part I): Anew Infrastructure
“Artificial intelligence” (AI) is sometimes jokingly used to label tasks that computers cannot yet do. Among these is possessing a sense of humor, which “requires self-awareness, spontaneity, linguistic sophistication, and empathy,” and extends beyond the wonky errors of Google Translate and auto-generated YouTube captions. However, in spite of its apparent shortcomings, AI has silently yet […]
The “Scourge of South Korea”: Stress and Suicide in Korean Society
“Suicide is everywhere,” says South Korean author Young-ha Kim, referring to modern Korean society, in his op-ed for the The New York Times. Countless others have documented what some call “the scourge of South Korea” – the fact that people of all classes, ages, and genders are committing suicide at exceptionally high rates. South Korea […]
Donald’s Manufacturing Myth
Why the Decline of Manufacturing Jobs Persists “God bless Boeing.” Standing in front of a shining Boeing 787, this was the exaltation of the President of the United States. Perhaps his blessing was misplaced. In a trip to celebrate American jobs, Donald Trump had decided to give a speech before a plane of which the […]