Tuesday's Assorted Links

TV prices, AI pollution, internet service providers, literacy rates, and job satisfaction

Hi y’all! Here are five stories from this week that contained some neat applications of economic principles or are related to teaching:

1. TVs don’t actually cost 98% less than they used to... and other inflation misconceptions [Sherwood News]

2. Pollution from artificial intelligence data centers would contribute to an extra 1,300 deaths each year, trigger around 600,000 asthma symptom cases, and accrue $20 billion in public health costs by 2030 [Business Insider]

3. Only a handful of internet service providers dominate the broadband market [CNET]

4. Over a quarter of Americans can reliably gauge info only from a simple text [The Wall Street Journal]

5. The majority (88%) of US workers report feeling extremely, very, or somewhat satisfied with their jobs, but 29% said they’re not too or not at all satisfied with their pay [Pew Research Center]

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Cutting federal jobs might sound like a bold solution to government overspending, but does it really make a difference? Despite high-profile proposals to slash federal employment, the math simply doesn’t add up. Federal salaries account for just 5% of the budget, and even massive cuts wouldn’t meaningfully reduce the $1.7 trillion deficit.

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