Avert your eyes! My Sunday morning look at incompetency, corruption and policy failures:
• The umpire who picked a side: John Roberts and the death of rule of law in America: The chief justice of the US has painted himself as a modern institutionalist over the past 20 years. Experts say he’s emboldening Trump’s drive toward authoritarianism (The Guardian)
• Private Equity Is Headed for Your 401(k). The Industry Is Celebrating. Should You? The Trump administration is taking the handcuffs off the private-market industry. The outcome for retirement savers will be complicated. (Barron’s) see also The Ivy League Keeps Failing This Basic Investing Test: Elite universities are again stuck with illiquid assets just when they badly need cash. (WSJ)
• Firing BLS Director Over Weak Jobs Report Is ‘Banana Republic’ Behavior: If a Democratic president tried to so directly politicize an independent agency, Republicans would be screaming about the coming tyranny. (Reason)
• How The Internet Died: Dissecting a tragedy of the commons: “The Internet feels empty and devoid of people. It is also devoid of content. Compared to the Internet of say 2007 (and beyond) the Internet of today is entirely sterile. There is nowhere to go and nothing to do, see, read or experience anymore… Yes, the Internet may seem gigantic, but it’s like a hot air balloon with nothing inside.” (What We Lost)
• The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism. In the scientific community, Mr. Geier is infamous for the deeply flawed studies he conducted with his father, Mark Geier, claiming that vaccines cause autism. Researchers have long called attention to the serious methodological and ethical defects in their work. (New York Times)
• America Is Abandoning One of the Greatest Medical Breakthroughs: The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced it would wind down 22 mRNA vaccine development projects under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, halting nearly $500 million in investments. This decision undercuts one of the most significant medical advances in decades, technology that could protect millions more people from the threats ahead. (New York Times)
• Russia is quietly churning out fake content posing as US news: A pro-Russian propaganda group is taking advantage of high-profile news events to spread disinformation — and they’re spoofing reputable news outlets to do it. (Politico)
• American Nazis: The Aryan Freedom Network is riding high in Trump era: With Donald Trump’s return to power, a neo-Nazi group buoyed by his rhetoric is expanding its reach and changing the face of white extremism in America. Its leaders: a Texas couple, both born to Ku Klux Klan leaders. (Reuters) see also Inside the ‘Whites Only’ Community in Arkansas: Members have espoused racist and antisemitic views and repeatedly praised Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. They’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, and their movement is growing. (Wired)
• Trump wants NASA to burn a crucial satellite to cinders, killing research into climate change: By any reasonable metric, NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory has been a spectacular success. Originally designed to support a two-year pilot project, it has been operating continuously in space for more than 10 years and could continue doing so for three decades more. The data it produces “are of exceptionally high quality,” NASA stated in a 2023 review, when it labeled the project “the flagship mission for space-borne measurements” of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. (Los Angeles Times)
• How Fast Should Your 12-Year-Old Throw? It’s a paradox that parents of talented kids face. Their children could become really good at something they love. They could also get hurt. (New York Times)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business this week with Ellen Zentner, Chief Economic Strategist and Global Head of Thematic and Macro Investing for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. The firm manages over $7 trillion in assets.
What is the US poverty rate?
Source: USA Facts
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