Thursday, August 15, 2024

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Joan Westenberg writes about the insistence by Elon Musk and others that people be forced to listen to bigotry in the name of "free speech" - along with their dissatisfaction that people keep developing new communication systems to avoid their hate-filled channels. Athmeya Jayaram points out how extreme wealth is used to threaten decision-makers not to consider any interests other than the demands of the richest few individuals and corporations. And Ajay Parasram discusses how solidarity and cooperation have served as the most effective message to stop the political rise of the regressive right.  

- Kate Yoder discusses how politicians (and even the general public) drastically underestimate the popular support for climate action - due in no small part to anti-clean energy astroturfing funded by fossil fuel tycoons. Rebecca Hersher reports on the reality that our oceans are warming significantly faster than projected, producing even more severe weather than anticipated. And Jack Simpson reports on the effect of extreme weather on insurance payouts. 

- Everett Kehew highlights the folly of blaming a housing shortage on lower-income immigrant workers rather than the capital class which refuses to build homes which most people can afford. And Alex Lord discusses the reality that the UK (like other countries) needs to reverse decades of neglect to meet housing targets - though it's telling that the needed number of homes isn't unprecedented, merely unfulfilled due to a lack of public investment.  

- Jason Foster, Bob Barnetson and Susan Cake study how governments have meddled in public-sector collective bargaining in Canada. 

- Finally, Gus Speth discusses the need to focus on well-being as the basis for our policy choices, rather than fetishizing growth for its own sake. 

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