fun facts

The case for high-skilled immigration reform.

“Despite making up just 14% of the population, immigrants are responsible for 30% of U.S. patents and 38% of U.S. Nobel Prizes in science. A team of Stanford economists recently estimated that nearly three quarters of all U.S. innovation since […]

fun facts

US Census, race and Hispanic origin.

75.8% of census-takers are “White alone” but that might not mean what you think. A reminder that even data that seems obvious can be confusing: “The concept of race is separate from the concept of Hispanic origin. Percentages for the […]

fun facts

The economics and history of hole-in-one insurance.

“Though the concept [of a golfer picking up everyone’s bar tab after nailing a hole-in-one] largely faded away in the US, it became a big business in Japan, where golfers who landed a hole-in-one were expected to throw parties “comparable […]

thoughts of food

US suspends Mexican avocado imports!

“Avocado exports are the latest victim of the drug cartel turf battles and extortion of avocado growers in the western state of Michoacan, the only state in Mexico fully authorized to export to the U.S. market.” | learn more

on the blockchain

The hidden hand marketplace.

A crypto group has developed a marketplace for organizing vote-buying in governance tokens. Why is this interesting? Well, consider how important vote-buying was to governance of cities and states in the US a hundred or so years ago. | learn more