Calling a timeout
Welcome to “Not Pretty, Not Rich,” a newsletter about money, the economy, and doing things the hard way.
It’s Friday, April 2, 2021, and there isn’t much to the newsletter this week. In fact, I’m putting it on hiatus for a little bit. In short, my daily workload has grown, and I’ll need to reassess how the newsletter fits into it. It’ll be back before long, but I do want it to return bigger and better than ever. So, it may be a couple of weeks or a couple of months, but for now, I’m calling a timeout.
In the meantime, I’ll share some links as I usually do. See you soon.
56%: The share of Americans that think the stock market is rigged. (Axios)
3,000: Tons of garbage picked up in Portland, Oregon, in 2020. An increase of 50% from 2019, as we apparently turned into trash machines during the pandemic. (TIME)
1,200: The number of years Japan has been keeping track of its annual cherry blossom bloom. And this year, they bloomed earlier than ever, which isn’t really a good sign. (Washington Post)
Teaching A.I. and algorithms to set prices ethically — imagine explaining this concept to someone 150 years ago. (Harvard Business Review)
Cannabis can be roughly as addictive as opioids for users between 12 and 17. I’m all for legalization, but yeah — kids shouldn’t be using this stuff. (JAMA Pediatrics)
Speaking of marijuana legalization, New York FINALLY took the leap, and New Mexico appears to be hot on its heels.
A look back at the “Satanic Panic” that gripped the nation during the 1980s. A lot of this stuff is remarkably similar to some of the current conspiracy theories gripping certain segments of our population. (The New York Times)
In the most unsurprising surprising news of the week, some companies apparently hire unethical bosses on purpose. (U. of Maryland)
A long read, but worth it: The story of how an American container ship was sunk by Hurricane Joaquin in 2015, killing 33 people. (Vanity Fair)
Living like a nomad can be expensive, and hard work. (The New Republic)
We’re squeezing out farmers. (Modern Farmer)
“Not Pretty, Not Rich” is a newsletter about money, the economy, and doing things the hard way, written by me, Sam Becker. You can connect with me through my website, Twitter, LinkedIn, or send me an email at sammbecker@gmail.com. Also, if you enjoy this newsletter, I’d really appreciate it if you would share or forward it to others.
And remember, the contents of this newsletter are not meant to be taken as advice. It’s for informational and entertainment purposes only.