Money and Computing
A Pew Research Center Report: Wide Partisan Gaps in US Over How Far the Country Has Come on Gender Equality
Americans across demographic and partisan groups agree that women should have equal rights with men. About eight-in-ten Americans (82%) say it is very important for women to have equal rights with men in our country, and another 14% say this is somewhat important. Just 4% of Americans say gender equality is not too or not at all important. Asked whether the country has gone too far, not gone far enough or been about right when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, half of the public says the country still has work to do, while 39% say things are about where they should be; one-in-ten Americans believe the country has gone too far in giving women equal rights with men. These views differ by gender, education and, most of all, partisanship. more »
Women's Issues in Congress: House Small Business Subcommittee Considers Women’s Entrepreneurship
Testimony of Antonella Pianalto before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Health & Technology October 12, 2017: Women receive just 7% of venture capital funds and less than 5% of conventional business loan dollars, despite making up more than a third of all businesses. At the US Small Business Administration (SBA) flagship 7(a) lending program, only 17% of loans go to women-owned firms... if American women business owners were their own country, they would have the 10th largest GDP in the world, outstripping entire nations like Canada, Mexico and even Russia. more »
Janet Yellen: "The Biggest Surprise in the US Economy This Year Has Been Inflation"
"I have spoken about some of the uncertainties associated with the inflation outlook in particular, and we will be paying close attention to the inflation data in the months ahead. But uncertainty about the outlook is by no means limited to inflation. As always, the Committee will adjust the stance of monetary policy in response to incoming economic information and the evolution of the economic outlook to achieve its objectives of maximum employment and stable prices. Moreover, we are mindful of the possibility that shifting expectations concerning the path of US policy can lead to spillovers to other economies via financial markets and the value of the dollar." more »
How Hurricane Responders Track People Whose Lives Depend on Power: Registries of Medically Fragile Residents
As the US population ages and more people opt for home health care services instead of lengthy hospital and nursing home stays, the number of Americans who rely on the electrical grid to power life-sustaining home devices is soaring. Hurricane Sandy, which hit the East Coast in 2012, caused prolonged power losses for millions of residents in 17 states and sent hundreds of medically fragile people to hospital emergency departments to plug in their devices. At the same time, people with life-threatening injuries were crowding the same hospitals, creating chaos and death. That’s when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decided to help states locate and care for electricity-dependent residents during natural disasters. Using Medicare claims data, the agency created a database of people who use home medical equipment paid for by the federal insurance program for the elderly and disabled. more »