Category «Economy»

Innovation Nation: An American Innovation Agenda for 2020

“Business Roundtable today released “Innovation Nation: An American Innovation Agenda for 2020,” a set of policy recommendations to secure U.S. leadership in innovation, maintain a robust U.S. economy and increase living standards for all Americans through 2020 and beyond. Innovation Nation—a cross-cutting policy agenda—provides a roadmap for the U.S. to effectively continue to compete for and win …

Subjects: Economy, Education, Financial System, Internet, Privacy

Blockchain and the Law: A Critical Evaluation

Quintais, João and Bodó, Balázs and Giannopoulou, Alexandra and Ferrari, Valeria, Blockchain and the Law: A Critical Evaluation (January 17, 2019). Pedro Quintais, B. Bodó, A. Giannopoulou, & A. Ferrari (2019). Blockchain and the Law: A Critical Evaluation. Stanford Journal of Blockchain Law & Policy (2)1; Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2019-03; Institute for …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System

Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects

EveryCRSReport.com – Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects, December 2018: “When federal agencies and programs lack funding after the expiration of full-year or interim appropriations, the agencies and programs experience a funding gap. If funding does not resume in time to continue government operations, then, under the Antideficiency Act, an agency must …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legislation

Unpaid Federal Workers Owe $438 Million in Mortgage and Rent Payments This Month

Zillow Research: Federal employees who are not being paid during the shutdown and own their homes make about $249 million in monthly mortgage payments. Those who rent pay about $189 million for housing each month, according to a recent HotPads analysis. About 3,900 mortgage originations are processed each business day for loans backed directly by …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Financial System, Housing

Employees from IRS USDA TSA calling in sick with expanded work without pay

Washington Post: “…The Trump administration last week ordered at least 30,000 IRS workers back to their offices, where they have been working to process refunds without pay. It was one of the biggest steps the government has taken to mitigate the shutdown’s impact on Americans’ lives. But IRS employees across the country — some in …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

Second month of furlough brings changes for workforce

FCW.com: “Federal agencies shuttered due to the shutdown sent out a second round of furlough notices in recent days, while the Office of Personnel Management updated guidance regarding leave accrual, retirement benefits and health care enrollment.By law, furlough notices only cover 30 day periods. OPM guidance states agencies should issue additional furlough or “adverse action” …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

Does Journalism Have a Future?

Cue up the similar refrain – Do libraries have a future?… The New Yorker – In an era of social media and fake news, journalists who have survived the print plunge have new foes to face. “…In the past half century, and especially in the past two decades, journalism itself—the way news is covered, reported, …

Subjects: Economy, Education, Financial System, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

IMF World Economic Outlook Update, January 2019

A Weakening Global Expansion Amid Growing Risks “The global expansion has weakened. Global growth for 2018 is estimated at 3.7 percent, as in the October 2018 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast, despite weaker performance in some economies, notably Europe and Asia. The global economy is projected to grow at 3.5 percent in 2019 and 3.6 percent in …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System

Copyright Office Releases “Copyright and Visual Works: The Legal Landscape of Opportunities and Challenges”

“The U.S. Copyright Office has submitted a letter to Congress detailing the results of the Office’s public inquiry on how certain visual works, particularly photographs, graphic artworks, and illustrations, are registered, monetized, and enforced under the Copyright Act of 1976. The Office sought commentary on the marketplace for these visual works, as well as observations …

Subjects: Congress, Copyright, Economy, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Shutdown Hits Industries Nationwide

WSJ.com [paywall]: “The partial government shutdown is affecting a wide range of business and financial concerns nationwide. From a report: Shuttered government offices are stalling the approval of new loans, initial public offerings, the processing of tax documents, and the approval of new products such as prescription drugs, among other effects. While some programs are …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Food and Nutrition, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Medicine

Thieves of Experience: How Google and Facebook Corrupted Capitalism

Los Angeles Review of Books – Nicholas Carr’s review of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism – The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power By Shoshana Zuboff To the Googles and Facebooks of the world, we are neither the customer nor the product. We are the source of what Silicon Valley …

Subjects: E-Commerce, Economy, Internet, Privacy, Recommended Books, Search Engines, Social Media