By Leo Babauta The world is in a state of fear and uncertainty right now, and it’s stressful and overwhelming for most of us. This kind of fear, stress, uncertain and overwhelm can have some really strong effects on our lives: Constant fear and stress can cause anxiety problems, worsening sleep and health, depression and […]

By Leo Babauta I recently talked with a couple of people who are just absolutely slammed with business because of the current crisis, and feel like they are drowning in busyness and stress. I can relate to that feeling — I’ve experienced it a bunch of times, including recently. So I’m writing this guide to […]

We find 3 new hires for every 10 layoffs caused by the shock and estimate that 42 percent of recent layoffs will result in permanent job loss. That is from a new paper by Jose Maria Barrero, Nick Bloom, and Steven J. Davis, top experts on this and related topics.  As for policy: Unemployment benefit […]

The post Labor market restructuring and its possible permanence appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one bit: The first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic brought serious economic damage for thinly capitalized face-to-face retailers, such as small family-owned restaurants. But many of those same institutions will lead the recovery — that is, if they have built up trust among their […]

The post America’s reopening will depend on trust appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

This paper argues that testing participation –and not testing capacity–is the biggest obstacle to a successful “test and isolate”-strategy, as recently proposed by Paul Romer. If ????0=2.5,at least 60percentof a population needs to participate in a testing program to make it theoretically possible to achieve an effective reproduction rate for the whole population,????'', below 1. […]

The post Testing participation vs. testing capacity appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

Workers in the bottom quintile of the wage distribution experienced a 35 percent employment decline while those in the top quintile experienced only a 9 percent decline. Large differences across the wage distribution persist even after conditioning on worker age, business industry, business size, and worker location. As a result, average base wages increased by […]

The post Facts about labor markets ouch, when are rising wages bad edition appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

I have a short Mercatus policy brief on that topic, co-authored with Trace Mitchell.  Excerpt: Risk from reopening cannot fall to zero, but investments in safety by employers can bring real gains in many cases. Ideally, a plan should both minimize risk and encourage employers’ safety investments. In essence, policymakers should (1) limit liability in […]

The post Limiting liability for a resumption of business activity appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

For $20, fans of German soccer club Borussia can have a cut-out of themselves placed in the stands at BORUSSIA-PARK. According to the club, over 12,000 cut-outs have been ordered and 4,500 have already been put in place. Here is the tweet and photo. And some sports bettors are betting on simulated sporting events.  (Again, […]

The post Coronavirus sports markets in everything, multiple simulations edition appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

How many stupid, outrageous, maddening government failures can you document in just 500 words? Jim Doti and my former colleague Laurence Iannaccone should win a prize for this piece in the WSJ: …the U.S. is, by far, the world’s largest producer of alcohol. That distinction is a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, […]

The post World’s Largest Producer of Rubbing Alcohol Can’t Manufacturer Hand Sanitizer appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

A person who decides whether or not they're full of shit by the reactions of those around them.

"That guy who posted ____ but said he was just trolling when no one agreed with him is totally a Schrodingers Asshole"

It’s not unusual for the mother of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be in the news. Margaret Sinclair Trudeau is a celebrity in her own right – author, speaker, and mental-health advocate.   But Ms. Trudeau, 71, made headlines

                          Schoolhouses might be closed but “school” is not.   As parents and caregivers balance working at home

When: Tue Dec 1, 2015

Where: Central Edinburgh (TBC)
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: For booking, please visit the event website

When: Wed Mar 2, 2016

Where: Edinburgh (TBC)
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Delegates will discuss the ways in which the transition is impacting on the health and social care workforce, public health improvement and the third and independent sectors. Areas for discussion include: -Progress on the integration process - including case studies outlining integration in practice - and wider policy priorities beyond April 2016 - Integration and primary care - including discussion on the ways in which to tailor resources efficiently to meet local population needs - Next steps for public health improvement in Scotland and priorities for developing mental health services - Addressing barriers to the adoption of technology enabled care - Responding to challenges facing social care and assessment of the relationship between secondary and social care - Developing care standards in Scotland For further information, please visit the event website

When: Thu Dec 3, 2015 to Fri Dec 4, 2015 

Where: Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Aimed at delegates from across Europe, this conference offers an opportunity to share the successes and challenges of recent developments across Europe, and to explore the creation of inclusive services for all children and young people as part of our shared vision of how they can fulfil their potential. For further information, please visit the event website

When: Wed Jan 27, 2016

Where: Scotland: workforce, funding and delivery of care
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: This conference will provide a timely opportunity for delegates to consider the future of primary care in Scotland. For further information, please visit the event website

When: Mon Apr 4, 2016 to Wed Apr 6, 2016 

Where: Europa Hotel, Great Victoria Street, Belfast BT2 7AP, United Kingdom
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: An international conference of interest to anyone involved with the professional development of students in any field of health or social care. Supporting students in practice settings is an integral part of the preparation of health and social care professionals. Practice and Field Educators enable students to acquire, develop, apply and transfer educational knowledge, skills and attributes to support their learning within the workplace learning environment. This conference will focus on evaluating learning and assessment of performance. For further information, please visit the event website

When: Fri Nov 20, 2015

Who: Social Services Events, brought to you by IRISS
Where: Hilton Hotel, 1 William Street, Glasgow
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: National Care Home Conference and Exhibition http://www.scottishcare.org/news/scottish-care-national-care-home-conference-exhibition-amp-care-awards-2015/

When: Mon Feb 8, 2016

Where: Stirling Court Hotel, University of Stirling
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/thinking-of-the-future-innovations-and-developments-for-social-work-practice-tickets-19249165773

Clusterfuck Nation For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page They’re kidding, right? Joe Biden? The former vice-president and US champeen influence grifter came back from the dead this Super Tuesday to save the Democratic Party from Bernie Sanders Venezuelizing what’s left of America (after you subtract our awesome more »

The post Things Get Interesting appeared first on Kunstler.

Clusterfuck Nation For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page Around the same time that most Americans set their clocks ahead this weekend, something more momentous shoved the world into an epic phase-change, and the modern era, with all its mighty baggage, was finally swept away, along with that more »

The post Things Take a Turn appeared first on Kunstler.

  Clusterfuck Nation For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page At least in wartime, the bars stay open. That’s how you know this is a different thing altogether from whatever else you’ve seen in your lifetime. Even those of us who signed up for this trip — that is, more »

The post Things Have Changed appeared first on Kunstler.

Clusterfuck Nation For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page Happy Colorectal Awareness Month, everybody ­— in case you’re wondering why it feels like fate shoved a four-by-four up your nether region where the sun don’t shine. Millions around the country must be stunned at how bad this suddenly more »

The post Strength and Weakness appeared first on Kunstler.

  Clusterfuck Nation For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page In the corkscrewing anguish of the social sequester, with careers, savings, futures, and dreams whirling down the drain, voices rise above the din of conflicting statistics to ask: what is going on here? To some, it looks like a more »

The post Risings and Fallings appeared first on Kunstler.

Clusterfuck Nation For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page It’s one thing to get sandbagged by a public health crisis ­– a plague being about the worst kind – and quite another for an advanced, complex economy to fall away under your feet like a freight elevator that more »

The post Turning and Churning appeared first on Kunstler.

Support this Podcast by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page   Charles Hugh Smith founded his blog, Of Two Minds, in 2005 after 17 years of free-lance journalism in the San Francisco Bay Area. Of Two Minds has grown to thousands of posts that have logged tens of millions of page views on his site and many others more »

The post KunstlerCast 328 — Chatting with Charles Hugh Smith from the OfTwoMinds Blog appeared first on Kunstler.

Clusterfuck Nation For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page The people of this land have enough trouble in mind — what with livelihoods, careers, businesses, marriages, hopes and dreams circling the drain in the new insta-depression — but let’s hope they have just a little attention left over more »

The post Slouching Toward Resolution appeared first on Kunstler.

Clusterfuck Nation For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page Spring is popping now with a ferocious energy that can only remind the sullenly sequestered masses that life is going on without them. Every living thing is busy making-and-doing out there, except the poor humans, idled without work or more »

The post When the Birdies Sing Like the Fat Lady appeared first on Kunstler.

As the nation marks the one-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando this week, a group of experts on active shooter/hostile incident response will assemble at National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) headquarters to develop NFPA 3000, Standard for Preparedness and Response to Active Shooter and/or Hostile Events. It is expected that the initial standard will be completed by early 2018; then the public will have the opportunity to offer input for immediate review.

In the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire in London, where 79 people died or are presumed dead and many more were injured, serious concerns and questions around flammability of exterior cladding, the lack of fire sprinklers and the notion of “shelter in place,” among other subjects, have been brought to the forefront by the news media and the public at large. Jim Pauley, president and CEO of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), addressed these troubling fire safety issues in the upcoming edition of NFPA Journal, the association’s membership publication, which will be officially released next month.

With summer in full swing, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) are joining forces to remind people about the potential electrical hazards in swimming pools, hot tubs and spas, on board boats and in the waters surrounding boats, marinas and launch ramps.

September is Campus Fire Safety Month and this year the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and The Center for Campus Fire Safety (The Center) are working together to promote their national Campus Fire Safety for Students campaign. The campaign raises awareness about the dangers of fires among college-aged students who live in on- and off-campus college housing.

Knowing that today’s homes burn faster than ever, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) announced “Every Second Counts: Plan Two Ways Out” as the official theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, October 8-14, 2017. Experts say you may have as little as two minutes (or even less) to safely escape a typical home fire from the time the smoke alarm sounds.

Fire chiefs from France, the United Kingdom, and the United States gathered in Quincy, Massachusetts at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Urban Fire Forum (UFF) to listen to first-hand accounts of some of the biggest emergency response incidents over the past 15 months, including hurricane response in Texas and Florida, the Grenfell Tower fire in London, and the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando.

We had a good Thanksgiving. It was Ladd, me, our four kids, and two extras…and I can’t remember the last time I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for eight people (well, and six dogs, obviously.) It was so relaxing and so enjoyable, and while I will always prefer to have the larger, whole fam damily together on […]

Hi, friends. Gosh…it’s been awhile! And so much has happened. I hope you are all okay, I hope your loved ones are safe and well, and I hope you’re weathering this storm with your family. What an unprecedented time.   Here in our world, we’ve had adjustments like everyone has. We closed the Merc in […]

After a week with a regular episode (it was filmed back in January), tomorrow we’re going back to my self-shot “Staying Home” series on Food Network! If you caught my first one, you know the drill: Because my regular crew is in England and isn’t able to travel to Oklahoma right now, my kids and […]

Thank you all for checking out my new, dramatic (not really) miniseries on Food Network, and for sharing your feedback with me! The kids and I are still filming away and having fun, and Staying Home: Episode 3 airs this Saturday morning. (That’s tomorrow, if you’re reading this on Friday!) Here are some pics from […]