Money and Computing
The Multitasking Myth: You may think you’re being productive, but, get real, you're not
Rose Madeline Mula writes: "We see parents at dance recitals, soccer games, graduations — engrossed in texting, instead of focusing on their little darlings who are going to be grown and out of the nest almost before the next message pops up on mom’s or dad’s I-phone. Meanwhile, students in classrooms are surreptitiously texting, oblivious to the words of their professors ..." more »
1940 Census Questions: If unmarried, are you a virgin? Are you a blonde or brunette? Do you own a Bible?
The 1940 Census is a unique Census in our history — the first to include questions that were asked only of a subset of the population, chosen through a near-random scheme. In addition to the questions on age, sex, race, and relationship to the householder were questions about the value of the home, living on a farm, marital status, attending school, highest grade of school completed, place of birth, and citizenship. For persons 14 years and older, there were additionally seven different questions on working status, current occupation and industry, number of weeks worked, and income. more »
Bank by Cellphone? Fed's Trends in Mobile Financial Services
More than two-thirds reported that they checked their account balance or available credit before making a large purchase. Moreover, among the consumers that reported doing this, nearly six out of ten reported that they had decided not to buy an item because of the amount of money available in their account. more »
New Deal Numerology: Ryan Redux
$800 billion ... is an unhelpful number. That’s how much Ryan wants to cut from income security programs like food stamps. He’s confronting a harsh reality that liberals have ignored for far too long: poor people are hogging all the money. more »