Economy: What caused the Great Depression?
Speculative investments in stocks and real estate, fragile banking system, Federal reserve policy mistakes that made things worse. And what about "late stage capitalism"?
Personal finance: Klarna and personal finance
Is use of Buy Now, Pay Later a sign of stretched budgets? No. Almost all purchases are discretionary in nature, not necessities.
Demographics: World total fertility rate since 1960
The fertility rate is trending down globally since 1960.
Demographics, housing: What happened to mobile home parks?
Trailer parks/courts once provided low-cost housing options in the U.S. Since 1970, 1 in 3 trailer parks have closed.
Who invented popular programming languages?
Surprisingly, most of the major programming languages were invented by Baby Boomers, and PHP and Rust by Gen X.
Gen Z: “Choosing the soft life”
Gen Z says "Boomers had it easy" but simultaneously says they reject the work and burnout culture of their parents. A bit of a contradiction.
Demographics: Yet another US fertility rate chart
This one comes from: Social Security’s Financial Outlook: The 2025 Update in Perspective – Center for Retirement Research
Social Security was designed as a mostly “pay-as-you-go” system
In the 1980s onward, Social Security was a "pay as you go" system, about 90% funded by then current workers, who also funded the "trust fund".
Generations: Gen Z spends hundreds per month on “treats”
Many lack understanding of money or personal finance. Wealth is created by earning, saving and investing - not by spending.
Economy: How efficiency reduced railroad crew sizes
As automation and improved systems were deployed, railroad crews went from about 12-16 per train in the 1950s, to just 1 or 2 crew members in 2025.