Snap Crackles, Markets Pop
How are things going in the economy these days? Well, that depends if you’re playing the market or if you can’t afford to shop in one. If you’re investing, especially in the AI/tech driven market, things are going really well. Bad news doesn’t seem to register and good news is driving a boom. The economy looks a lot less bullish if you’re one of the 42 million or so Americans who rely on SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to feed your family. For these Americans, things are going from bad to worse. “Food banks across the United States were stretched thin even before the federal government shut down. Rising food prices had driven a growing number of people to their doors. Cuts to federal programs had left them with less to give. Now, that system — a last resort for tens of millions of hungry Americans — is anticipating an even greater surge in demand. With no end in sight to the nearly monthlong federal government shutdown, funding for the nation’s largest food assistance program, known as SNAP, will disappear at the start of November.” NYT (Gift Article): Food Banks Brace for Overwhelming Demand as SNAP Cutoff Looms. The government shutdown is driving this story at the moment. But, of course, there’s a broader question here. In supposedly economic good times, why are more than 40 million people in the world’s richest country unable to afford to eat? If there’s one story that underpins all other American stories, it’s the economic divide. It’s the divide that powers most of our other divides. And like those other divides, it’s only getting more divided.
+ The “knowledge economy is accelerating away from most people, not flattening out or becoming more accessible through AI. Rather than creating more opportunity for low-skilled workers, it’s removing opportunities they might otherwise have had and, at the same time, increasing the advantages of highly skilled workers. The bottom 60% effectively lose twice, while AI functions to amplify inequality rather than level the playing field.” Ray Dalio sees a vast American underclass increasingly dependent on the top 1%.
+ While a huge swath of America is wondering if food will be available in November, a small sliver of America is busy buying private jets… to save money. Bloomberg (Gift Article): Private Jets and Car Washes Are the Latest Tax Shields for the Ultrarich.
+ Meanwhile, if you can’t afford a vacation, an AI app will sell you pictures of one.
