EP 496 The Toll of Being Unemployed in America

EP 496 The Toll of Being Unemployed in America

https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/new-book-tolls-uncertainty-examines-us-unemployment-system/ America is country that values hard work, almost above all else.  When you meet a stranger, one of the first questions is ‘so what do you do’?  Our occupation is often how we are defined and our value established in this culture.  It then makes it all the more difficult and painful to find …

Read More Read More

EP 495 Voter Suppression Efforts Gaining Traction Across the United States

EP 495 Voter Suppression Efforts Gaining Traction Across the United States

https://www.fairelectionscenter.org/ Over 60 court challenges were dismissed relating to voter fraud and irregularities in the 2020 presidential election, but that has not deterred former President Trump in mounting a crusade to undo many ballot access initiatives that came about in the wake of the hotly contest 2000 presidential campaign.  No excuse absentee ballot, early voting, …

Read More Read More

EP 494 Nurses Are in Short Supply

EP 494 Nurses Are in Short Supply

https://www.montana.edu/nursing/dr_peter_buerhaus_research/ America has a nursing shortage’ scream the headlines.  And that’s true and will be for the foreseeable future.  Is the reason all to do with COVID?  No, but clearly it has had a dampening impact on the numbers of nurses and their perception of whether they want to stay in the field going forward.  …

Read More Read More

EP 493 When Will Technology Be Applied to Government Administration?

EP 493 When Will Technology Be Applied to Government Administration?

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Public-Promise-Interest-Technology/dp/0691207755 In most states, the Department of Motor Vehicles is the poster child for government inefficiency.  New systems are touted and yet the lines and the bureaucracy often grind down the citizen interacting with it.  This is especially notable in a society where private companies know so much about us that the interaction with them …

Read More Read More

EP 492 Are We Still Living in Ronald Reagan’s America?

EP 492 Are We Still Living in Ronald Reagan’s America?

https://www.amazon.com/H.-W.-Brands/e/B000AQ26V0%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share Conservatism has been the prevailing political ideology in America since the 1980’s, when Ronald Reagan’s brand came to dominate America’s political culture.  It was a rather pragmatic version, often cutting deals with Democrats to get 80 percent of what he wanted.  His belief that winning elections was for the purpose of governing.  Much of …

Read More Read More

EP 491 The QAnon Storm Can No Longer Be Ignored

EP 491 The QAnon Storm Can No Longer Be Ignored

https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Upon-Us-Conspiracy-Everything-ebook/dp/B08S6YQ1KF On January 6, 2021, the day our Capitol was invaded by insurrectionists, QAnon became the most violent manifestation of its most fervent fever dreams and joined with other right wing extremists of all stripes to declare that ‘the storm’ they have long talked about was here. Mike Rothschild a chronicler of the movement since …

Read More Read More

EP 490 Is Infrastructure Spending As Wise a Use of Federal Dollars as Suggested?

EP 490 Is Infrastructure Spending As Wise a Use of Federal Dollars as Suggested?

https://www.brookings.edu/experts/clifford-winston/ Democrats and Republicans agree on little else, but both seem to buy into the notion that heavy expenditures on capital projects related to infrastructure will reap great dividends for the near and long term.  Who can argue that new roads, bridges, water systems and broadband enhancement are not beneficial?  But are the use of …

Read More Read More

EP 489 Americans on the Move in the Wake of the Pandemic

EP 489 Americans on the Move in the Wake of the Pandemic

https://www.manhattan-institute.org/expert/steven-malanga There are short and long term trends as it relates to migration across America.  For years, the south and the southwest have been gaining population while the Midwest and Northeast have been stagnant or losing ground.  And even in places like New York City, some tragic event or spate of bad governance may drive …

Read More Read More

EP 488 Don’t Know Much About History.

EP 488 Don’t Know Much About History.

https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/topics?f%5B0%5D=type%3A2363 It’s hard to consider the place we’re in as a country and not wonder if something is lacking in the way we teach civics and United States history.  ( I must have missed the chapter about trying to undo fair and free election results by storming the Capitol.) Waving the flag and spouting platitudes …

Read More Read More

EP 487 Cultural Agility Required in the 21st Century

EP 487 Cultural Agility Required in the 21st Century

https://www.amazon.com/Cultural-Agility-Building-Successful-Professionals/dp/1118275071  In the Zoom era, businesses are investing millions into global collaboration technology.  Yet the slickness of Big Tech stands to mask-and perhaps exacerbate the real issue: doing business across borders has less to do with technology and everything to do with being culturally agile.  Instinctively we sense this.  How do you react when put …

Read More Read More