Jimmy Carter 2.0: Why the anti-democratic mob is determined to make Joe Biden into a bogeyman
The president has had to withstand a barrage from right-wingers, and for Republicans the formula might be working to their political advantage. It seemed that Joe Biden would be bad for business in “Make America great again” world. In theory, the U.S. president, a...
Fear, change, and 2022: Why COVID-19 variants renew our anxiety of the pandemic and an unknown future
By Eli Sopow, Professor of Change Management and Organizational Behavior, University Canada West Omicron has renewed people’s fear of COVID-19, while at the same time starkly surfacing our other embedded fear … the fear of change. In looking at Google Trends, my...
A vaccine built for the world: How the patent-free CORBEVAX could help end the global pandemic
By Maureen Ferran, Associate Professor of Biology, Rochester Institute of Technology The world now has a new COVID-19 vaccine in its arsenal, and at a fraction of the cost per dose. Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has seen over 314 million infections...
Yizker bikher: How “Memorial Books” commemorate Holocaust deaths while also celebrating Jewish lives
By Jennifer Rich, Professor of Sociology, Rowan University Each year on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp complex in Poland, an International Day of Commemoration memorializes the victims of the Holocaust. This somber day...
Freshwater Pollution: Each year Lake Michigan gets filled with more than 1M tons of winter salt
More than 1 million metric tons of salt is flowing into Lake Michigan each year, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The findings come as the state has been making significant strides to reduce salt use on roads to curb pollution....
Hypocrisy and Health: Workplace safety at risk after SCOTUS blocks vaccine mandate for large businesses
By Debbie Kaminer, Professor of Law, Baruch College, CUNY The U.S. Supreme Court on January 13 blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate, which applied to virtually all private companies with 100 of more employees. But it left in place a narrower...
Pandemic Payday: Oxfam’s report shows Ultrawealthy earned $1.2B a day while inequality killed millions
A new report explains how inequality contributed to the death of 21,000 people each day of the pandemic while the wealthiest collectively got $1.2 billion richer every 24 hours. Oxfam International’s latest report on global inequality finds that while the 10...
Nigeria completes purchase of Talgo trains intended for unbuilt Milwaukee-Madison high-speed rail line
Two trains originally intended for a high-speed rail line to connect Madison and Milwaukee are headed for Nigeria. The governor of that country’s Lagos State was in Milwaukee on January 18 to purchase the unused trains. The trains are set to become part of West...
Forcing voters from the polls: Senate filibuster blocks urgently needed Federal legislation
U.S. senators have undermined President Joe Biden’s push to defend voting rights against what Democrats have framed as an all-out assault by conservative states targeting racial minorities. Faced with a blockade from Republicans in the upper house complaining of...
A workforce dilemma: How Wisconsin’s labor shortage has transformed the jobs market for years to come
To understand how Wisconsin’s labor shortage has transformed the jobs market, look no further than an October 14 job fair to hire workers for expansions of Pierce Manufacturing’s production plants in Neenah and Fox Crossing. The fire truck manufacturer aimed to hire...
Economists unsurprised that Black Americans still experience higher jobless rate despite market recovery
Even as economists celebrated a job market recovery seen from the beginning of the pandemic, when unemployment peaked at 14.8%, to November when unemployment was 4.2%, Black Americans have continued to see a much higher jobless rate. In November 2021, Black Americans...
The Tyranny of Generosity: When philanthropists think making sandwiches is enough to end hunger
By Ted Lechterman, Research Fellow, University of Oxford How should wealthy people respond to daunting problems like racism, economic inequality and climate change? Leading thinkers have long questioned whether philanthropy offers appropriate or meaningful solutions...