Category Archives: Uncategorized

Slate Money on Richard Thaler, Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy, and Brexit.

Slate Money on Lagos and Nairobi, China in Africa, and South African corruption.

I’ve put my own money where my mouth is: if someone set up a system of direct cash transfers in Houston, I said I’d give in a heartbeat, and that’s exactly what I’ve done.

While it’s highly likely that the sale of the museum’s masterpieces is going to go ahead as planned, there’s still a small chance that it might not.

The story of the Berkshire Museum is more than one about a second-tier local institution selling off some art. It’s a story about how fragile museum-industry norms are, how unaccountable a museum director can be, and how much destruction can … Continue reading →

Slate Money on music royalties, Puerto Rican bondholders, and Wolfgang Schäuble.

Let other medical charities strike their own course in a quixotic attempt to zag where governments zig. This is one area where it’s best to just trust the global experts in the field.

If Congress manages to give Puerto Rico the resources it needs to rebuild after Maria, and if FEMA continues to do a creditable job in terms of disaster relief, then that will be a win for America’s robust government institutions … Continue reading →

Slate Money on Toys R Us filing for bankruptcy, the new startup Loftium, and sukuk bonds.

Invisible causes are always going to be underfunded, and/or funded overwhelmingly by governments and large institutions.

A Slate Money bonus episode on gaydar A.I., L’Oréal for men, Facebook advertising, and Ray Dalio.

Slate Money on Equifax, SoFi, and sex robots.

You can make the world a better place by spending $1,500 less at the grocery store.

Divestment is a political gesture. It’s idealistic, rather than technocratic. It’s the right thing to do even if it turns out to be utterly futile.

Slate Money on concert ticket scams, the sale of legacy media brands, and Amazon’s new headquarters.

By working together, state attorneys general could force changes.

If you can’t do better than giving cash, you should just give cash. That makes perfect sense in theory – but in practice, what you need is an actual giving-away-cash option.

Slate Money on Hurricane Harvey, construction productivity, and tax reform.

Slate Money on pink slime, Disney’s Netflix deal, and open seating plans.

Charities have a very good public reputation, and it’s easy for lawmakers to want to support them. But this is not the way to do that.

Slate Money on the stock market, index composition, and Etsy.

The tl;dr: try engaging your critics a little bit, and being much more honest about the realities you’re facing and the trade-offs you are making.

At heart, you combine the three ingredients, bung it in the oven for half an hour, and presto, you’re done.

Slate Money on Anthony Scaramucci, productivity, and Hampton Creek’s eggless mayo.

Anthony Scaramucci is a schmoozer, a chameleon, and quite possibly a man with no soul. He’s Trump’s most dangerous enabler yet.