No. 168: How Rich is Rich?
Good morning, everyone.
Yesterday was Jeff Bezos' birthday. The richest man in the world, depending on the day, made $86 billion over the course of the pandemic. Pandemic chaos also minted 493 new billionaires. It's a tricky thing to compare wealth from completely different eras, but according to measuringworth.com, the best way to get an idea of how much more or less rich someone like Jeff Bezos is compared to, say, John D. Rockefeller is by comparing their net worth as a percent of national GDP. Rockefeller's net worth accounted for roughly 1.5% of the US GDP in 1937. By comparison, Bezos' wealth accounts for about 0.7% of the US GDP. Food for thought.
Below, we introduce the latest in Tales from the ER, sample the Nashville news, dig into some stats about farming, and highlight one of the worst opeds of the week.
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Thanks for reading.
The latest installation in the “Tales from the ER” series by Doc Paracelsus. These tales are based on real cases. Identifying information and certain medical details have been altered to protect privacy.
FROM THE ARCHIVE
- Tales from the ER # 1: Los Paquetes (Read)
- Tales from the ER #2: We Got a Runner! (Read)
- Tales From the ER #4: Freshly Baked Cookies (Read)
- Tales from the ER #5: Poisonous Poinsettias & Toxic Show & Tell (Read)
HEADLINES
- Wildlife officials release details of controversial plan to clearcut wilderness area (Lookout) Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officials have released details of a controversial plan to clear thousands of acres of forest in a popular, publicly-owned hunting and recreation destination in White County.
- Lee chooses Campbell for Tenn. Supreme Court (TNJ) Campbell, 39, is an associate solicitor general and special assistant to state Attorney General Herbert Slatery. She grew up in Rogersville before attending Duke law school and going on to clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. She later worked for the Williams & Connolly law firm in Washington before joining the AG’s office in 2015.
- Metro to fund 8 North Nashville infrastructure projects chosen by residents (NBJ) Bordeaux and North Nashville residents have chosen eight infrastructure projects they want to see executed as part of a participatory budgeting initiative led by the mayor’s office. Projects include improved signage, landscaping, a playground, a pavilion, and some speed bumps.
- Report: Nashville would back women's pro team (Axios) 53% of those surveyed support the initiative to bring an NWSL or WNBA team to Nashville. Just 14% do not support the cause, according to the report.
DEVELOPMENT
- Midtown site slated for mixed-use building (Post)
- Mixed-use $1.2M complex brings live-work spaces to Cool Springs (Homepage)
- Downtown tower lands high-end international restaurant (Post)
☂︎ TODAY'S BAD OPINION
Paul Krugman is notable for his Nobel Prize and completely misunderstanding the internet before it exploded. Since then, he has become something a regime anointed wisdom dispenser who's wrong and/or out of touch so often in his NYT columns that it's become something of a joke. In his latest disappearing act, Krugman pens an oped entitled 'The Strange Alliance of Crypto and MAGA Believers'.
Falling perfectly into the basket of "all those who don't like Democrats are enemies of the state", the piece includes gems like:
Bitcoin was supposed to create a monetary system that functions without trust — and the modern right is all about fostering distrust. Covid is a hoax; the election was stolen; California’s forest fires had nothing to do with climate change, and they were started by Rothschild-controlled space lasers.
It's obvious that Krugman has never talked to people he considers to be part of the "modern right". He's invented an enemy in his head and then proceeded to construct elaborate arguments against said enemy in the same way that a stoned, angsty teenager might after watching Loose Change and realizing that "it's all a lie" as he finishes a big bag of Cheetos. Another way to describe this behavior would be as a symptom of mental illness.
☀︎ FARM, FOOD, AND SOIL STATS
- Farmers account for 1% of the population. Almost 28% of these farmers are between the ages of 55 and 64.
- Large-scale family farms and industrial nonfamily farms account for only 4.8% of farms, but 57.4% of production (in $). Small-scale family farms represent
nearly 90% of U.S. farms, but only 21.5% of production. - Just 14.3¢ of every dollar spent on food in 2019 went back to the farm; in 1975, it was 40¢.
- Between 2014 and 2016, 48% of the hired agricultural labor force lacked the authorization to work in the United States.
- In California, undocumented immigrants’ labor is worth more than $180 billion a year.
- From 1992 to 2012, total cropland decreased from 460 million acres to 392 million acres.
- Accounting for waste, the average American consumed 2,501 calories per day in 2010, an increase of 22% from 1970.
- The EPA estimated that in 2010, 31% of the food supply was lost, 50% more than in 1970. In 2018, more food reached landfills than any other material. This waste accounts for roughly 22% of the municipal solid waste stream and represents a loss of $450 per person each year. One estimate suggests that 2% of total annual energy use in the U.S. is used to produce food that is later wasted.28
SOURCES
- US Food System Factsheet from University of Michigan (Link)
- California can’t afford to lose immigrant workers. These two bills protect them (Link)
⚔︎ MISSIVES ⚔︎
- The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing its sweeping vaccine-or-test requirements for large private companies, but allowed a vaccine mandate to stand for medical facilities that take Medicare or Medicaid payments.
- Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema declared Thursday that she will not vote to suspend the filibuster in order to pass two voting bills championed by her party, all but guaranteeing that President Biden’s top legislative priority will fail.
- The head of a medical supplies company involved in the distribution and supply of monoclonal antibodies across southeastern and northeastern regions of the nation, told NTD in a Jan. 12 interview that government takeover of the monoclonal antibody supply chain has exacerbated backlogs and shortages.
My friend Mike David says, when having a laugh at someone's expense, yes, one person may suffer, but think about all the joy being brought to those doing the laughing. We're just to ignore this? Now, this sentiment doesn't really gel with a lot of people, but who cares. Let's have a laugh at the expense of these bands over their poor name choices.
BAD BAND NAMES
Dance Gavin Dance
+ If a woman hears “Dance Gavin Dance,” her fertility window closes immediately
Imagine Dragons
+ Imagine our enemies hearing this band name
Rebelution
+ “Woah man, Tribal Seeds and Rebelution are playing on Friday, gimme some cash to get a ticket… Dude you owe me for those whippets last week”
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
+ If I were king, I’d ban them from artistic expression
Rainbow Kitten Surprise
+ This name gave me a sinking feeling in my stomach, then I looked at the band and became violently ill
Cautious Clay
+ Must not have dads
Drivin N Cryin
+ Get out of the fast lane, bro
THINGS TO DO
View the full calendar here.
🖼 At the Frist, Medieval Bologna: Art for a University City is running until January 30th.
TODAY
🐖 Nashville Farmers’ Market @ Nashville Farmers’ Market, 8a, free, Info
🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
+ Best honky tonk in Nashville
TOMORROW
🐖 Nashville Farmers’ Market @ Nashville Farmers’ Market, 8a, Info
🐖 Franklin Farmers’ Market @ Franklin, TN, 9a, Info
🐖 Charlotte Farmers’ Market @ Richland Park, 9a, Info
笊 Ran (1985) @ The Belcourt, 12:30p, $11.50, Info
+ Japanese Epic based on King Lear by Akira Kurosawa
🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
+ Best honky tonk in Nashville
SUNDAY
🐖 Nashville Farmers’ Market @ Nashville Farmers’ Market, 8a, free, Info
笊 Ran (1985) @ The Belcourt, 12:30p, $11.50, Info
+ Japanese Epic based on King Lear by Akira Kurosawa
NEW THIS WEEK
FROM THE ARCHIVE
Around the Web
❍ The Idiocy of ‘Shared Oppression’ It’s not true and betrays the reality of historical suffering
☇ Real Men Missing Emasculated conservatives calling for the restoration of America’s lost manhood are often the ones most responsible for destroying it.
⚑ Class War is Just Beginning Seismic economic and demographic changes will feed division and conflict.
Political Theater Highlight Reel
- Man arrested for attacking sculpture by paedophile artist Eric Gill outside BBC Broadcasting House in London
- Baltimore arsonist surprised by own plea deal says he 'shouldn't be out' of jail
- USA Today deletes tweet explaining how ‘not all pedophiles abuse kids’
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Words of Wisdom
Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!
Martin Luther