My morning train WFH reads:
• Wealth Inequality Is the Highest Since World War II The new tool calculates how economic growth is distributed across income and wealth groups. It’s valuable for two reasons: It gives fresh insight into what has happened to various strata of the U.S. population during the pandemic; and it’s effectively a prototype for a measure that could someday be officially calculated and published by the federal government. (New York Times) see also The Super Wealthy versus the Merely Rich Realtime Inequality data set and charts show just how lopsided wealth in America actually is; sure, the top 10% and top 1% have seen their wealth increase substantially over the past four decades, but it is almost modest compared to the top 0.1% and 0.01%. Those at the top of the pyramid have seen their fortunes disproportionately soar since the 1980s. (The Big Picture)
• We Found The Real Names Of Bored Ape Yacht Club’s Pseudonymous Founders The buzzy NFT collection has raked in millions and the eager support of dozens of celebrities. But its founders’ anonymity raises questions about accountability in the age of crypto. (Buzzfeed)
• New York Needs to Learn a Housing Lesson From … New Jersey? Starting—but not stopping—with eviction laws. (Slate)
• Investors Gobble Up Dividend Stocks During Market Turbulence Shift toward dividend-paying stocks is a bid for protection against a slowing economy, rising interest rates (Wall Street Journal)
• The Real Reason America Doesn’t Have Enough Truck Drivers A 1,000-mile journey through the middle of America reveals the fundamental reason for truck driver shortages: It is a job full of stress, physical deprivation and loneliness. (New York Times)
• Lucid Air: A Fresh Face With 500 Miles to a Charge, and Horsepower to Spare Chasing Tesla, companies like Lucid are finding that starting an E.V. from scratch has its advantages. A comparison with Mercedes-Benz’s new EQS shows how. (New York Times) see also Behold! Inside the incredible Ford F-150 Lightning Pro From most angles, it looks like any other Ford F-150. The big differences are the charge port door on the driver’s side and these futuristic daytime running lights. (Inverse)
• Disney+, HBO Max and Other Streamers Get Waves of Subscribers From Must-See Content. Keeping Them Is Hard. Roughly half of U.S. viewers who joined right after ‘Hamilton’ and ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ were gone in six months, data show (Wall Street Journal)
• Why We Choose to Suffer: In the search for a meaningful life, simply seeking pleasure isn’t enough. We need struggle and sacrifice. (Wall Street Journal)
• The 1918 flu didn’t end in 1918. Here’s what its third year can teach us. In the meantime, though, the country’s experience a century ago suggests that we could be in for a lot more pain — especially if we let our guard down. (Washington Post)
• Comedy’s existential crisis: The Joe Rogan debate underscores comedy’s evolving conversation about morality, cancel culture, and how to be funny. (Vox)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with James Anderson, partner at Baillie Gifford, the Edinburgh, Scotland investing giant that manages $470 billion in client assets. He runs FTSE-100-listed Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, a $23.5 billion fund, where since 2001, he has generated returns of 1,700%.
How Alternative Layer/Smart Contract Cryptocurrencies Performed in 2021
Source: Visual Capitalist
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