Between 1980 and 2020, the population of urban areas in the United States saw a surge of nearly 50%. Concurrently, most of these urban regions implemented strict regulations on the construction of new, denser housing. As a result of this combination – the escalating demand due to population growth and the tight controls on supply – housing prices in US cities have experienced a sharp and dramatic rise.
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France…
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, was accused of single-handedly ruining France’s finances. Official estimates claim court expenses alone were 7% of France’s total budget but the real figure was a lot higher. She was given the name “Madame Déficit” during the French Revolution.
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Upon finding out he won the Nobel…
Upon finding out he won the Nobel Prize for Economics for his work on irrational decision-making, American economist Richard Thaler said he would spend the prize money as “irrationally as possible.”
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A group of participants received a mug…
A group of participants received a mug and were told they owned it; a second group was only shown the mug. When asked how much they would be willing to sell the mugs for, their asking price was more than twice of the second group. The “endowment effect“ is when we overvalue what we feel […]
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There’s a Hot Waitress Economic Index…
There’s a Hot Waitress Economic Index – an informal measure of the state of the economy that is compiled by counting the number of attractive people working as waiters/waitresses.
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The Democratic Republic of Congo…
The Democratic Republic of Congo is widely considered one of the world’s richest countries in natural resources; its untapped deposits of raw minerals are estimated to be worth in excess of US$24 trillion. Yet, owing to political instability, it remains one of the poorest countries (per capita).
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Kansas City Is the First U.S. City to Offer Free Public Transit
Imagine being able to ride your city’s bus or train and go anywhere for free. That’s the reality in just one groundbreaking U.S. city.
In Kansas City, Missouri, people will soon be able to ride on any bus or light rail without paying a fare of any kind. The city is the first in the country to approve a plan for free public transportation.
Kansas City’s streetcar has been free for some time, and a plan to eliminate bus fares for 2020 was approved by the city council in December 2019.
Kansas City becomes first major American city with universal fare-free public transit – Kansas City's streetcar has been free since it opened, and is now joined by the city's bus system. PHOTO BY NATE SHEETS Today, Kansas… – https://t.co/6EhXyqk4Lr – – pic.twitter.com/OZ9RC3l5K4
— Happy Eco News (@HappyEcoNews) December 18, 2019
City officials estimate that the new plan will cost $8 million, which is about how much the transit system makes off of bus fares and monthly passes each year.
However, it will also likely make residents’ lives a whole lot easier, especially low-income residents.
“When we’re talking about improving people’s lives who are our most vulnerable citizens, I don’t think there’s any question that we need to find that money,” City Councilman Eric Bunch told KSHB.
By making it easier for folks to get around, officials also hope that the plan will ultimately boost economic activity to make up for the lost money.
Photo Credit: iStock
Accessible public transit is a hot-button issue in many cities in the U.S. Many young activists praise mass transit as a possible way to fight the effects of climate change, and many large fossil fuel interests spend liberally to try and prevent the expansion of public transit systems.
However, no city has successfully enacted a plan for free public transit — until Kansas City. On the contrary, larger cities like New York City are famously cracking down on folks who ride the subway without paying (though New York has decades of mismanagement to thank for their current funding woes).
The success or failure of Kansas City’s plan will impact whether other cities follow suit, but it’s impossible to know how it’ll turn out without first trying — so hats off to you, KC!
Hopefully you’re the first of many.
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The “Nobel Prize in Economics” isn’t…
The “Nobel Prize in Economics” isn’t a real Nobel Prize. It was established over 70 years after the death of Alfred Nobel, is sponsored by a bank and is officially only “in memory of Alfred Nobel”.
Over the last 12 months…
Over the last 12 months an investment portfolio selected by throwing darts at stock tables outperformed a portfolio of stocks recommended by high-profile hedge fund managers by 27%.
The Strange Reason Iceland Gets Its Ice from Other Countries
The first time I found out about this, it totally tripped me up. You see, Iceland – a country with 11% of its surface covered by glaciers; a country whose name literally starts with the word “Ice” – imports most of the ice they use in their beverages. What the what?
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Maybe not so much, when you consider that the country’s rugged geography makes extracting many natural resources difficult. Not only that, but economics play a part; Iceland has extremely high domestic labor costs compared to cheap inbound shipping costs, which means they can import ice for far less than it would cost to pay a crew to harvest it.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out the video below from Half as Interesting.
The imported ice cubes are sold in grocery stores for far less than the price of native cubes, which can be up to 40% higher, and come from Norway, the U.K. and the U.S.
Biologist Rannveig Magnusdottir, who works at Icelandic Environment Association, commented that he finds “this completely insane, as I’m sure most people do, and I think our cousins in Norway and Scotland laugh at the fact that they can sell Icelanders ice.”
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Funny or not, believe it – it’s true!
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