Good afternoon.
November was a blockbuster month for US employment. The economy added 266,000 jobs last month, dropping the unemployment rate to a 50-year low of 3.5% and blowing past consensus job growth expectations. Part of the gains can be attributed to the return of thousands of General Motors workers from a strike.
France has a second day of nationwide strikes. More than 800,000 took to the streets yesterday as unions launched an open-ended protest against plans for pension reform, the BBC reports. The strike forced the closure of trains, hospitals, schools, and even the Eiffel Tower.
A judge decides what to allow in the case against T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint. Several US states are trying to block the merger, saying it will hurt competition. Bloomberg reports that they want access to sensitive emails between the companies and regulators who approved the deal, which will be hashed out in a hearing today before the case goes to court next week.
Navigating capitalism
Travel Olympically
Startup life & strife
Changing the game for health
Disrupting dementia
What are the chances of getting dementia? The Quartz calculator can indicate your risk of developing dementia, based on your age, gender, and country of residence. ✦
Next-generation dementia care could learn from cancer care. Palliative care helps patients in their final months, and is often used for people suffering from end-stage cancer. But it can actually help anyone who has a long-term, chronic illness, and it could be especially effective for people living with dementia. ✦
Monopolizing deportation
The sole airline willing to deport high-risk immigrants is price-gouging ICE. There is only one carrier willing to take on US deportation flights and they're charging the US government nearly double the normal price, making flights as expensive as $33,500 per hour in November.
A basic lesson in supply and demand, as seen through the lens of ICE Air ops in an unredacted ICE document we obtained. ICE can only obtain the Boeing 767s required for its so-called SHRC (special high-risk charter) flights from one company in the entire country, because it's the only firm willing to
A basic lesson in supply and demand, as seen through the lens of ICE Air ops in an unredacted ICE document we obtained. ICE can only obtain the Boeing 767s required for its so-called SHRC (special high-risk charter) flights from one company in the entire country, because it's the only firm willing to take the contract for fear of negative press. But last month, those 767s were tied up with other, richer customers (i.e. the Dept. of Defense). So ICE was forced to take whatever the carrier offered—a 777 that was a couple of hundred seats bigger than what ICE needed, and double the price: $33,000/flight hr vs $17,000/flight hr. The company knows it's the only game in town and has no incentive to meet ICE halfway, according to ICE's primary charter broker, explaining why it can't put any pressure on the subcontractor to come down on its rate.
Every now and then, my faith is restored that the markets really know how to do their job. I'll use this as a lesson tonight to teach my kid the basics about supply and demand, and about how actions have consequences.
This is a super illuminating piece that shows the complexity of immigration control, public protest, and the business of deportation. Because ICE has garnered so much criticism few companies want to risk a public backlash and run the agency's charters. In fact, only one does it, which means it can charge
This is a super illuminating piece that shows the complexity of immigration control, public protest, and the business of deportation. Because ICE has garnered so much criticism few companies want to risk a public backlash and run the agency's charters. In fact, only one does it, which means it can charge whatever it wants.
Justin shows here how much this lack of competition is costing US taxpayers. It doesn't mean we should support all of ICE's activities but it does expose a dark side to an already dark law enforcement project.
It's the most wonderful time of the year?
Greetings from Krampus. At this time of year, in parts of Europe, a goat demon named Krampus treads through the snow, ready to lug misbehaving children directly to hell. The Quartz Obsession will tell you how such a fearsome creature became part of tales told to children.
New planet, same problems
What's your cause?
The real life Irishman
Roll credits 🎬
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