Hacker News with Generative AI: Economics

So many Americans died from Covid, it's boosting Social Security (fortune.com)
New research finds Social Security will pay out $205 billion less in future benefits owing to COVID-related premature deaths.
Social Security, COVID-19, Economics, Demographics
24 points by askl 6 hours ago | 2 comments
Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer? (civileats.com)
Eggs are suddenly a conversation starter as the latest wave of highly pathogenic avian flu clobbers U.S. poultry farmers in the worst outbreak of the virus since 2022.
Food, Agriculture, Economics, Avian Flu
242 points by greenie_beans 21 hours ago | 653 comments
Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy (apnews.com)
Malaysia is betting that potential economic growth from data centers justifies the risk.
Malaysia, Data Centers, Economics, Environmental Impact
114 points by rntn 22 hours ago | 99 comments
China's Plateauing Fuel Use Is Without Precedent IEA Says (bloomberg.com)
A slowdown in the growth of China’s fuel use is without precedent for a country at its stage of economic development, the International Energy Agency said.
China, Energy, Economics, International Relations, Fuel
10 points by slothtrop 22 hours ago | 2 comments
Heat pump sales in Europe fall 23% to pre-Ukraine war levels (theguardian.com)
Heat pump sales fell 23% in Europe last year, industry data shows, reverting to the level they were at before the war in Ukraine and slowing the shift away from gas-burning boilers.
Energy, Europe, Climate Change, Economics, Industry
5 points by adrian_mrd 1 day ago | 4 comments
Trump threatens 25 percent 'and higher' tariff on chips (c-span.org)
Politics, Economics, Tariffs, Technology
19 points by shscs911 2 days ago | 2 comments
Elon Musk is failing to cut American spending (economist.com)
It all seems to add up to something big. On a daily, sometimes hourly, basis, Elon Musk claims that his team of fiscal commandos has found yet more government fraud, terminated another wasteful contract or even scrapped an entire agency. Mr Musk’s supporters believe that, through tech wizardry and sheer willpower, he is slashing the federal deficit in a way that has eluded politicians for years.
Government Spending, Elon Musk, Politics, Economics
40 points by rurp 2 days ago | 12 comments
Why community pharmacies are closing – and what to do if yours shutters (theconversation.com)
Neighborhood pharmacies are rapidly shuttering.
Pharmacies, Business, Healthcare, Community, Economics
15 points by rntn 2 days ago | 1 comments
Tariffs result in 10% laptop price hike in U.S. says Acer CEO (tomshardware.com)
Tariffs, Laptops, Hardware, Consumer Electronics, Economics
282 points by pseudolus 2 days ago | 513 comments
Why Japan succeeds despite stagnation (tomaspueyo.com)
For more than three decades, Japan has endured near complete economic stagnation. Since 2000, Japan’s total output has grown by only $200B.
Economics, Japan, Stagnation
10 points by creer 3 days ago | 0 comments
Population Decline Will Transform Our Social World (jacobin.com)
Population growth has been slowing and even reversing in many countries, a trend with far-reaching social implications that looks certain to continue.
Demographics, Social Change, Economics
8 points by PaulHoule 3 days ago | 0 comments
The human mind is in a recession (ft.com)
The human mind is in a recession.
Economics, Psychology, Human Behavior
45 points by anjel 4 days ago | 52 comments
The European VAT Is Not a Discriminatory Tax Against US Exports (taxfoundation.org)
The Trump administration has once again floated the idea of “reciprocal” tariffs on foreign countries.
International Trade, Tariffs, Taxes, Politics, Economics
179 points by dzogchen 5 days ago | 376 comments
How will the Trump tariffs affect construction? (construction-physics.com)
Earlier this month the Trump administration announced hefty 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, along with an additional 10% tariffs on Chinese imports.
Tariffs, Construction, Economics, Trade
8 points by juliangamble 5 days ago | 1 comments
Leave Billionaires Alone (m-onz.net)
"Money, money, money. It's so funny. In a rich man's world."
Wealth Inequality, Social Commentary, Economics
21 points by timothygold 5 days ago | 18 comments
The Unicorn Boom Is Over, and Startups Are Getting Desperate (bloomberg.com)
The billion-dollar startup bubble is deflating, and more than $1 trillion in value is locked up in companies with dwindling prospects.
Startups, Venture Capital, Economics, Technology
41 points by kjhughes 5 days ago | 38 comments
The danger of relying on OpenAI's Deep Research (economist.com)
Economists are in raptures, but they should be careful
OpenAI, Artificial Intelligence, Research, Economics
40 points by ohskylab 5 days ago | 59 comments
China's Plateauing Fuel Use Is Without Precedent, IEA Says (bloomberg.com)
A slowdown in the growth of China’s fuel use is without precedent for a country at its stage of economic development, the International Energy Agency said.
China, Energy, Economics
10 points by guerby 6 days ago | 1 comments
A Libertarian Island Dream in Honduras Is Now an $11B Nightmare (bloomberg.com)
Nestled within a tropical forest on a sun-drenched Honduran island, Prospera is technically a city. But entering it feels like crossing into another country.
Politics, Economics, Honduras, Real Estate, Development
52 points by impish9208 6 days ago | 30 comments
Elon Musk is failing to cut American spending (economist.com)
It all seems to add up to something big. On a daily, sometimes hourly, basis, Elon Musk claims that his team of fiscal commandos has found yet more government fraud, terminated another wasteful contract or even scrapped an entire agency. Mr Musk’s supporters believe that, through tech wizardry and sheer willpower, he is slashing the federal deficit in a way that has eluded politicians for years.
Politics, Economics, Elon Musk
17 points by ketlag 6 days ago | 10 comments
AI will divide the best from the rest (economist.com)
Optimists hope the technology will be a great equaliser. Instead, it looks likely to widen social divides
Artificial Intelligence, Social Inequality, Economics
36 points by johnshades 6 days ago | 135 comments
Chevron to Lay Off Up to 20% of Staff (nytimes.com)
Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil and gas company, said on Wednesday that it would lay off as much as 20 percent of its work force, or up to around 9,000 people, as part of a cost-cutting effort.
Layoffs, Business, Economics
12 points by bookofjoe 6 days ago | 2 comments
Cheap solar power is sending electrical grids into a death spiral (economist.com)
Cheap solar power is sending electrical grids into a death spiral
Renewable Energy, Energy, Economics
105 points by blackhawkC17 7 days ago | 118 comments
Republicans Reveal Trump Tax Plan Will Cost US $4.5T (newsweek.com)
The Republican House Budget resolution out Wednesday reveals the Ways and Means Committee will get $4.5 trillion to lock in tax cuts, one of President Donald Trump's major proposals.
Politics, Economics, Taxation, United States
18 points by enpera 8 days ago | 12 comments
The Prophet of Parking: A eulogy for the great Donald Shoup (worksinprogress.news)
Professor Donald Shoup died on February 6th. M. Nolan Gray explains how his mentor changed political economy of parking, and cities themselves, forever.
Urban Planning, Cities, Economics, Obituaries
321 points by herbertl 8 days ago | 303 comments
Reviving the joy and honor of working with your hands (2015) (richmond.com)
As the U.S. trade deficit soars along at an annual rate of a half-trillion dollars and the world starts digesting the implications of the titanic Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, consider this guy...
Manufacturing, Economics, Trade
133 points by skadamat 9 days ago | 107 comments
The Mythology of Work (2018) (crimethinc.com)
What if nobody worked? Sweatshops would empty out and assembly lines would grind to a halt, at least the ones producing things no one would make voluntarily. Telemarketing would cease. Despicable individuals who only hold sway over others because of wealth and title would have to learn better social skills. Traffic jams would come to an end; so would oil spills. Paper money and job applications would be used as fire starter as people reverted to barter and sharing.
Philosophy, Economics, Social Commentary
68 points by robtherobber 9 days ago | 96 comments
What are non intelligent people like me supposed to do for money? (reddit.com)
Since the cost of living has surpassed most labor jobs wages and they don't seem to be moving anytime soon. What are people like me who aren't book smart or computer smart supposed to do?
Economics, Labor Market, Social Inequality
53 points by carabiner 10 days ago | 88 comments
DOGE's war on "waste" looks suspiciously like a war on science (vanityfair.com)
Welcome to the golden age of reverse philanthropy, an era in which America’s richest barons, who were once committed to funding medical research, the arts, and international aid, are now hanging such fields out to dry.
Dogecoin, Philanthropy, Science, Economics
39 points by ar813 10 days ago | 1 comments
Reclassification is making US tech job losses look worse than they are (theregister.com)
The latest job numbers from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics make IT hiring look like it's in freefall, but that's not the case at all, says consultancy firm Janco.
Technology, Employment, Labor, Data Analysis, Economics
3 points by rntn 10 days ago | 0 comments