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Economic Research, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: Shift in Confidence and Fear Could Prevent Consumers From Rebounding to Their Investment and Spending Habits
"The negative economic effects of the pandemic come from two sources: capital obsolescence and belief scarring. The pandemic and lockdowns forced consumers to work and consume differently, which can generate persistent changes in tastes and habits for years to come. Capital obsolescence reflects this long-lasting change in the economic value of installed capital. For example, in the post-pandemic world there might be more online shopping instead of in-store purchases. Hence, some installed capital, for example, commercial real estate such as shopping malls, could become obsolete." more »
The Morgan's Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol: Christmas is nothing more than “a time for finding yourself a year older and not an hour richer”said Scrooge
Beginning a few years ago, the Morgan started advancing the Christmas Carol manuscript by one page each season. This year the manuscript is open to Scrooge’s vituperative remarks about Christmas, which, he believes, is nothing more than “a time for finding yourself a year older and not an hour richer.” For the obstinate Scrooge, “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should! Scrooge’s nephew Fred counters with a spirited vindication of the holiday, “though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in [his] pocket” “[it is] the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts, freely". more »
GAO & VETERANS HEALTH CARE: Agency Efforts to Provide and Study Prosthetics for Small but Growing Female Veteran Population
Prosthetics for female veterans has been a national research priority for the Veterans Health Administration since 2017. VHA has funded 8 related studies, but officials said recruiting participants is a challenge. Although the female veteran population is growing, it remains small. Women make up just about 3% of the veteran amputee population. Female veterans received other "prosthetics" from VHA — like eyeglasses and wheelchairs — in addition to artificial limbs. Women made up 7.9% of those receiving prosthetic services in FY 2019, and accounted for about $889 million of the $15.4 billion cost of prosthetics VHA provided from FYs 2015-19. One study aims to develop a prosthetic ankle-foot system that allows female veterans to more easily change footwear with different heel heights. more »
Jo Freeman Reviews My Race to Freedom: A Life in the Civil Rights Movement By Gwendolyn Patton
Jo Freeman writes: Her first passion was cheerleading, which she pursued in high school and college. In many ways, she spent her life as a cheerleader, first for her team, then for her causes. Her second passion was leadership. She served as president of Tuskegee Institute’s student government and chose her successor when the rules did not permit her re-election. Gwen liked being in charge. Gwen had a talent for making friends, from the President of Tuskegee Institute, to Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis, Bettina Aptheker and many lesser knowns. They opened doors, helping her find jobs, travel to interesting conferences in far away places and serve on boards. She did make a few enemies, but there appear to be remarkably few. more »