A few takeaways

Was reading an article in the WaPo about teen workers during the pandemic: I hope school districts are seriously planning on a full-on push to make sure kids get back to school next year and don't drop out. I can see that becoming an issue, if jobs recover slowly and the teens' income is needed for the family. I really wish there had been any chance of getting Kamala Harris's bill with $2k payments to each household (?) for the duration plus four months of the pandemic. (Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and Ed Markey are the sponsors, ie three of the top five more liberal senators, the other two being Merkley and Gillibrand. I still wonder that Harris gets branded as a centrist.)

A few things that have become obvious over the course of the pandemic, I mean, aside from the obvious facts that we need (duh) better health care accessibility (note: not just in payments/who pays, in availability and convenience), to up the minimum wage, and a more nimble way of getting money to people quickly and efficiently.

We need two new major government reforms/programs:

-- internet as a public utility.

-- postal banking, for low cost (free...) banking for people who just need very basic banking.

Obviously, there are scores of other things, but these two would probably be relatively easy to implement. I'd prefer public internet, but at least offering a public option. See this excellent book, The Public Option: How to Expand Freedom, Increase Opportunity, and Promote Equality by Ganesh Sitamaran and Anne Alstot.

Email with my advisor

Her: [...]personally I'm struggling to maintain focus on the end of the quarter with all the horrible things happening!

Me: I hear you on maintaining focus. It just seems that everywhere you look, there is bad news, scary news, sad news, or infuriating news, all with Venn diagram overlaps.

Her: Yes....Trump is at the center of that Venn diagram.