Money and Computing
Jo Freeman Reviews The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA by Liza Mundy
Jo Freeman Reviews: "As history, the book documents the CIA’s shift from pursuing Communists during the Cold War, who sold secrets to the Russians, to jihadists who wanted to destroy America. It wasn’t a quick shift, which is one reason CIA leaders didn’t see 9/11 coming. As early as 1993, signs said al-Qaeda was planning to fly planes into strategic buildings in the US – even the CIA itself. The men didn’t take seriously a prediction proposed by women. Over time, that changed. Indeed it was women who confirmed that Osama bin Ladin was holed up in a compound in Pakistan – by reading the laundry hanging outside to dry... The Sisterhood is a fascinating book, especially to those of us who started it knowing little about the CIA." more »
Hope: A Research-based Explainer by Naseem S. Miller, The Journalist's Resource
“The later stages of life are often defined by loss: the loss of health, loved ones, social support networks, independence, and (eventually) loss of life itself,” the authors write. “Our results suggest that standard public health promotion activities, which often focus solely on physical health, might be expanded to include a wider range of factors that may lead to gains in hope. For example, alongside community-based health and nutrition programs aimed at reducing chronic conditions like hypertension, programs that help strengthen marital relations (e.g., closeness with a spouse), provide opportunities to volunteer, help lower anxiety, or increase connection with friends may potentially increase levels of hope, which in turn, may improve levels of health and well-being in a variety of domains.” more »
2024 Tax Filing Season Set for January 29; IRS Continues to Make Improvements to Help Taxpayers
Here you'll find items of current interest — new programs, recent guidance or timely reminders.Tax Updates and News From the IRS: Taxpayers face a number of issues due to critical tax law changes that took place in 2022 and ongoing challenges related to the pandemic. The IRS announced a major policy change that will end unannounced visits to taxpayers by agency revenue officers to reduce public confusion and increase overall safety. The change reverses a decades-long practice by IRS Revenue Officers, the unarmed agency employees whose duties included visiting households and businesses to collect unpaid taxes. Effective immediately, the unscheduled visits will end except in a few unique circumstances. more »
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Question: Design and the Gender Gap in Financial Literacy
"Results from the 2021 SHED show substantial gender differences in the responses to the financial literacy questions, consistent with prior studies. We first present results for the half of respondents who received an explicit "don't know" answer choice. A smaller share of women answered each financial literacy question correctly. While women and men were similarly likely to select an incorrect answer, women were much more likely to select "don't know." For example, 63 percent of women selected "don't know" for the diversification question – 20 percentage points higher than the share of men who did so." more »