Category: Finance

If you’ve ever ordered food through DoorDash, Uber Eats or Instacart, you may have realized the person who delivers it isn’t a salaried employee. They’re gig workers – independent contractors who pick up delivery tasks through an app, get paid per delivery and have no guaranteed hours, benefits or minimum wage protections. Policymakers in several […]

The Trump administration temporarily suspended the Jones Act on March 18, 2026, as part of its efforts to bring down soaring U.S. gasoline prices. But what does this more-than-century-old law, which originally was designed to support the shipping industry, have to do with the price of gas? As the director of the Center for Energy […]

Many provisions in the huge tax-and-spending package that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025, sometimes called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will influence how much money Americans give to charity. We conduct in-depth research on philanthropy. Together, we have analyzed the tax policy changes. After crunching the numbers, we predict […]

Springtime in Pennsylvania is peanut butter egg season. This year some consumers may taste the eggs a bit more critically and scrutinize the ingredients and label more carefully. Reese’s, a Hershey brand, is known for combining chocolate and peanut butter in delicious and iconic ways. Reese’s products come in a variety of formats, called “line […]

When homeless shelters allow people to stay with their dogs and other pets, more unhoused people become more willing to stay in a shelter. That’s what my team at the University of Southern California’s Homelessness Policy Research Institute learned when we evaluated California’s Pet Assistance and Support Program. California’s Department of Housing and Community Development […]

The high cost of renting and buying homes in U.S. cities is no secret. But this affordability problem isn’t limited to urban regions – it affects rural areas as well. Rural areas, home to about 25% of Americans, benefit from federally supported rental housing programs – particularly a U.S. Department of Agriculture program to provide […]

The 50 American individuals and couples who gave or pledged the most to charity in 2025 committed US$22.4 billion to foundations, universities, hospitals and more. That total was 35% above an inflation-adjusted $16.6 billion in 2024, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s latest annual tally of these donations. Media entrepreneur and former New York Mayor […]

The days are getting longer and W-2s are blooming, which can only mean one thing – the U.S. tax season is here. Many Americans may receive a bigger tax refund than in previous years as a result of changes under what has been dubbed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a package of tax breaks and […]

bk: michael, reminder to please fill our your disclosure when you have a second. it’s the red button at right The “fog of war” refers to confusion and uncertainty on the battlefield and the attendant possibility of fatal error. This principle has a parallel when it comes to the economic consequences of wars as well, […]

In 1960, 72% of adults were married, and over 90% would go on to marry. HR policies and management practices back then catered to nuclear families with a lone, male breadwinner. Today, dual-career couples and working mothers are common, largely due to the growth of women in the workforce in the second half of the […]