Money and Computing
The GDP: Gross Domestic Product, 2nd Quarter 2020 (Advance Estimate) and Annual Update
Personal Income and Outlays: Current-dollar personal income increased $1.39 trillion in the second quarter, compared with an increase of $193.4 billion in the first quarter. The increase in personal income was more than accounted for by an increase in personal current transfer receipts (notably, government social benefits) that was partly offset by declines in compensation and proprietors' income (table 8). ... Disposable personal income increased $1.53 trillion, or 42.1 percent, in the second quarter, compared with an increase of $157.8 billion, or 3.9 percent, in the first quarter. Real disposable personal income increased 44.9 percent, compared with an increase of 2.6 percent. more »
OVER-THE-COUNTER DRUGS: GAO's Information on FDA's Regulation of Most OTC Drugs
For years, most over-the-counter drugs followed requirements called "monographs" for each category of drugs (e.g., sunscreen or cough and cold medicine). To update a monograph, FDA followed the federal rulemaking process, which could take years. FDA said this process and insufficient resources limited its ability to quickly respond to safety issues. In March 2020, the CARES Act gave FDA new tools to regulate these over-the-counter drugs, such as a new process for updating and finalizing requirements, authority for FDA to collect user fees to support its activities, an expedited process for addressing serious safety issues. more »
Stateline: The Pandemic Has Closed Public Restrooms, and Many Have Nowhere to Go
The lack of restrooms has become an issue for delivery workers, taxi and ride-hailing drivers and others who make their living outside of a fixed office building. For the city’s homeless, it’s part of an ongoing problem that preceded COVID-19. “It’s gone from bad to worse,” said Eric, who lives in an encampment near Interstate 5. (Eric asked to be identified only by his first name.) “It’s definitely much, much harder.” A nearby pet supply store used to let homeless people use the restroom, but that changed during the pandemic. Conditions improved markedly when the city placed a portable restroom and handwashing station near the camp, but Eric said many more parts of town still lack similar amenities. more »
By Nearly a 2-1 Margin, Parents Prefer to Wait to Open Schools to Minimize COVID Risk, with Parents of Color Especially Worried Either Way
For the first time, most Americans (53%) now say that stress and worry related to the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health – an increase of 14 percentage points since May.... This includes about one in four who say it has had a “major” negative impact.As state and local officials prepare for the new school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, parents with children who normally attend school overwhelmingly prefer that schools wait to restart in-person classes to reduce infection risk (60%) rather than open sooner so parents can work and students can return to the classroom (34%), the latest KFF tracking poll finds. more »