Items
Subject is exactly
Economy
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2021-02-11How COVID led to a $60 billion global chip shortage for the auto industry
Article goes over the auto industry being affected by the pandemic. These kind of levels of economic interconnectivity really were exposed during the pandemic. -
05/25/2022Javier Echeverria Hernández Oral History, 2022/05/25
En esta entrevista Javier Hernández Echeverria es entrevistado por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Para empezar, hablan de los cambios que habían pasado desde el año anterior. Hablan de la situación en cuenta la pandemia y el programa de la vacunación. Hablan de la gente que aun no se han vacunado por falta de querer. Habla del camino a la normalidad, el uso de mascarillas, del gobierno, y nuevos candidatos. De allí hablan de su vida social, y el concierto de Cold Play. De La Caja, las elecciones, y el seguro social. Otra ves vuelven al tema de las vacunas, de gente que no se quiere vacunarse, de la familia de Javier y las noticias falsas. Habla sobre su vida ya jubilado, de la economía y inflación y gente sin trabajo. Para terminar, hablan de fuentes de información, de las elecciones y el nuevo gobierno. Al final habla del futuro. -
2022-10-23HERMIT HERALD, ISSUE 146
DEMOCRACY AT RISK -
06/08/2022Rodrigo Hernández Cordero Oral History, 2022/06/08
En esta entrevista Rodrigo Hernández Cordero es entrevistada por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Para empezar, hablaron de cosas que han cambiado desde el ano anterior. Hablaron de su negocio, inflación, y el gobierno. De allí hablaron del gobierno, la vacuna, y la mascarilla. Hablaron de La Caja, su vida social, y su familia. De las elecciones, fuentes principales de noticias y estudios cerebrales. Para terminar, hablaron de la juventud y de sus pensamientos del futuro. -
06/06/2022Francisco Guzman Solano Oral History, 2022/06/06
En esta entrevista Francisco Guzman Solano es entrevistada por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Empiezan con los cambios que había pasado desde el ano anterior. Francisco habla de su familia y vida social. Hablan del uso de las máscaras, vacunas y la información falsa. De allí, hablan de la economía y la inflación, del gobierno y las elecciones. Hablan del crimen y las drogas. Para terminar, hablan de las fuentes principales de noticias y el futuro. -
05/27/2022Erika Franco Quirós Oral History, 2022/05/27
En esta entrevista Erika Franco Quirós es entrevistada por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Hablan de los cambios que habían pasado desde el año anterior y cuenta que ella empezó ir al trabajo presencialmente tiempo completo. Habla de las vacunas y mascarillas. Erika habla de su trabajo como orientadora para un colegio técnico profesional y también habla de los estudiantes. De allí, ella habla del gobierno, cuenta que ella contracto COVID, y habla de la gente que no se quiere vacunar. Habla de su vida social, fuentes de información donde ella se educa, y la economía. Para terminar, ella habla de las elecciones, salud mental y el futuro. -
06/27/2021Rodrigo Hernández Cordero Oral History, 2021/06/27
En esta entrevista Rodrigo Hernández Cordero es entrevistado por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Para empezar, hablaron de los cambios que pasaron desde el ano anterior. Rodrigo es dueño de tienda, hablan de su negocio, de las vacunas y de su deseo de no vacunarse. Hablan del gobierno, del uso de mascarillas y su familia. De allí, hablan de La Caja, el sistema médico y hospitales privados. Rodrigo habla de cruzando fronteras y comparando para su tienda. También de la corrupción del gobierno, vida familiar, salud mental y de los funerales. Para terminar, hablan de la esperanza para el futuro, fuentes principales de noticias y noticias falsas. -
06/10/2021Francisco Guzman Solano Oral History, 2021/06/21
En esta entrevista Francisco Guzman Solano es entrevistado por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Empiezan hablar de los cambios que Francisco ha visto desde el ano anterior. Hablan de la economía y el gobierno, de su trabajo y la vacuna. También hablan del aumento del crimen, de las drogas, y de las noticias falsas. De la Caja y el ministro de Salud. Francisco también habla de su familia y su hogar, de las fuentes principales de información y la sociedad. Terminan hablando de las clases virtuales de su hija, de la educación y del Ministerio de Educación. -
2022-06-15China’s shoppers are still on strike and youth unemployment is rising
This is a news story from CNN by Laura He. This article is on the economic impact of China's zero COVID policy. Retail sales fell 6.7% in May according to China's National Bureau of Statistics. It is slightly lower than the 11. 1% drop in sales from April. Customer spending has fallen in about every category except for food, drink, and petroleum. Youth unemployment is rising in China, as places that would hire young workers were forced to shutdown with lockdowns. The youth unemployment rate rose 18.4% between the 16-24 range in China. -
2022-06-16Why have politicians stopped talking about Covid?
This is a text story from Vox by Dylan Scott. The article claims that COVID helped sink President Donald Trump's re-election campaign, yet despite this, it is not being focused on by either party. Though, this author believes the Democrat response hasn't been much better, with people not really touting President Joe Biden's vaccine rollout and other initiatives. The author links the reason for inflation being COVID interrupting supply lines, which is on people's minds for this midterm election. According to Gallup polling, COVID has lost importance in many people's minds, with it falling behind Russia and gas prices. On the Republican side of things, COVID is rarely mentioned, and if it is, it is in a negative light. Scott says that candidates favored by Donald Trump have gone against his ideas, with them being more skeptical of vaccines, and some refusing to get the vaccine at all. COVID is being tied to an anti-establishment attitude that has been rising within the Republican party. As for my own opinion on this piece, I believe that is does bring up an interesting point with linking COVID to current inflation. I do agree that COVID has impacted the economy for the worst with supply chains being more limited and rising spending of the federal government to counter it, but I do not think it can explain everything. Federal spending in general has been on an increase, which is driving up the cost of items, and not all that spending is COVID related. In addition to that, the shutdown of important pipelines has made reliance on foreign oil more of a necessity, which then drives up gas prices. These types of decisions can't all be traced back to COVID. So while I do think COVID has impacted the economy, I do not think it explains nearly all the economic issues the United States is facing. -
2022-06-16Overall employment in Arizona 15% higher than pre-COVID
This is a news story from Tuscon.com. Overall, employment has risen by 15% compared to pre-COVID numbers. Bars, restaurants, and hotels have increased employment by 10.6% since last year. Permits issued for single and multi-family homes are down by about 16% compared to last year. There is also a 32.6% price increase on energy prices, being driven by rising gasoline prices. Overall, this article shows economic trends in Arizona and how COVID has impacted various industries and consumer trends. -
2022-06-11US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the country
This is a news story from CNN by Kaitlan Collins. The CDC is expected to lift the requirement for air travelers to test negative for COVID before entering the US. The travel industry has been lobbying the CDC for months regarding this issue after it was no longer determined that the restrictions are no longer "based on the science and data." However, just because it is getting lifted now, the CDC does have the power to reinstate this restriction if a new variant develops and causes concern. -
2022-06-10From Sourdough to Inflation: How the Pandemic Changed the Way We Eat
This is a news story from Eater by Jamie Feldmar. This chronicles the changing food habits of people throughout the pandemic. In 2020, there was a wave of panic buying for things like flour, canned soups, and frozen vegetables. The use of grocery store delivery apps also increased that year. Instacart, a grocery delivery app, saw a 229% sales increase. With the panic buying came people looking for ways to use up things like canned goods and dried pasta. Things like sheet pan dinners, salads, and other easy meals became sought after in that time. Another change that occurred was people trying food trends popular during the pandemic. Things such as sourdough and whipped coffee were major food trends of that time. Meal kit delivery rose during the pandemic. Blue Apron had subscriptions to their food service skyrocket. Hello Fresh did as well, and was forced to close down temporarily to hire 3,000 extra workers to tackle the rising demand. In 2021, other food trends occurred while many restaurants and other dining establishments could not operate at full capacity. Things like espresso martinis and the dalgona candy, and candy made popular by the TV show Squid Game, were just some of those food trends. The food trends were not without labor issues though. In October 2021, Kellogg's workers went on strike, which affected the supply chains of that brand. Supply chain issues have become an ongoing problem since the beginning of the pandemic. In February 2022, the US temporarily shut down avocado imports from Mexico, making the food more expensive. With supply chain issues comes rising inflation. According to the USDA, food prices in 2022 were expected to rise between 6.5% to 7.5% increases. The Russian war with Ukraine cited as one of those causes. May 2022 saw a baby formula shortage, where 40% of baby formula was out of stock. Today, the USDA is looking to learn from the pandemic and the food issues that are occurring. One way they are doing this is through "a framework to transform the food system," which has the focus on building a more resilient supply chain while providing for rural and underserved communities. My own prediction is that the supply chain issues will mean more local food and less imported food overall in the United States. This means opening more food processing plants and increasing work domestically within the food industry to meet demands. The global food system is very fragile to things like pandemics and war. If food prices are to ever get lowered as well, it is important that more food gets produced and used locally. It would have the added benefit of being more environmentally friendly too, as the food would not have to be shipped as far away to where it gets used. -
2022-06-10Smithfield Foods to shutter California meat-packing plant
This is a news story from ABC News by The Associated Press. The shutdown of the Smithfield Foods plant in California is happening in part due to COVID. Some 300 employees were exposed to the virus in 2020, which created labor issues. Due to the exposure, California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined the company $60,000. -
2022-05-22HERMIT HERALD, ISSUE 141
Republican blowout at midterms? not so fast -
2022-04-22The Shanghai Lockdown. Seen from Another Angle
This is a screenshot of an article from globalresearch.ca about looking at the most recent Shanghai Lockdown. Yet, the article does not talk about the Shanghai lockdown until maybe halfway through the article. It goes on a tirade about how the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak went after the "Chinese race" and how it became an early trial for China before COVID. Then the author states that China has "mastered the disease" and managed to reopen its economy by the end of 2020, which leads to the conclusion that China's economic growth hardly suffered during the newest outbreak. The author asserts that China will surpass the U.S. economy in 3-4 years and then launches into a world history lesson about Cold War politics. The author tends to wander in the article, going from pandemic skepticism on vaccines sterilizing women, being lied to the government, or having HIV ingredients. Then somehow, Ukraine has virus labs...I don't know. Somehow, Russia is involved in this article, but I'm not sure why. I don't know how this is supposed to persuade its audience because the author goes all over the place with his points. I suppose skeptics will like the fact that the vaccine is being questioned here? Personally, I don't even understand why skeptics would want to read this because I think they would lose even more brain cells from just trying to read it. I think this article is just a gigantic mess and it makes my brain hurt. I find myself just not understanding a single thing that is being written in this article. I don't understand why anyone would even understand or like this article. It literally makes absolutely no sense and there are even typos in it. The look of this website and article makes me want to run my virus protection at least three times because I feel like they're going to infect my computer with a Trojan horse. -
2020-03-18All Things Will Pass
On this day, I recall watering my succulent and staring out the window with grave uncertainty of what was to come and utter confusion as to what exactly was happening. The stock market had just crashed andante pumped back up within minutes and the news was flooded with death and infection rates rising as people began clamoring for grocery stores to hoard supplies. The past two years living through COVID has felt somewhat like the process of the Calvin Cycle that kept my succulent in this photo nice and healthy. Although it is nearly impossible to articulate what life has been like or what was observed over the last two years, one great lesson I gained is the understanding that nothing is forever. It is all temporary. As I watered my plant with sheer emptiness and mentally checked-out due to the shock of the situation at the time, I began thinking about the Calvin Cycle process that my succulent or any plants outside would go through as my species was in dire panic. The world seemed to have stopped and sped up over night, but life itself remained to be what it was. Then the thought occurred to me. All things will pass. Living through COVID the last two years has seen work-from-home jobs rise to masses. I left one job to work at another and found that this was the worst comfort and behavior our species grew to become adapted to. For once, it has made us disconnected from reality and from each other. By being disconnected, it creates an issue of empathy and connection. The mantra of "connected while away," was shared everywhere when COVID first came about, but two years later, this has become the opposite. An example of this was observing many downplay the deaths of people from the virus, yet become very emotional once it was one of their family members. This could be viewed under a quick search on Google for the Reddit page of "Herman Cain Award." Bringing this page up primarily serves to show that both sides of the COVID discourse became contradictory as both sides were insensitive toward death. Was it due to being separated? I'll allow you to consider this. Another interesting point observed during COVID was the rise of irrational spending and mass speculation. Alan Greenspan once called the mass speculation a product of "Irrational Exuberance." The premise of this best serves that of investing as it describes the investor enthusiasm which drives asset prices higher than they are worth. However, the same could be viewed through the grocery hoarding of toilet paper or food where people became highly speculative of how long thee lockdowns would be. This was also indicative of the housing bubble 2.0 in which the Federal Reserve opened massive quantitative easing and opened cheap lines of credit for many. The result created more greed as people began hoarding one of the basic needs of our species in housing. How can a species feel righteous commoditizing shelter? The answer is irrational exuberance. Unfortunately, the result of the quantitative easing has created a massive issue where as the time I type this, the 1Q GDP results of the United States is at -1.4% and the inflation rate is at 8.5%. The Irrational Exuberance may be spelling the end of this decade's journey of cheap credit as it appears we are now headed for another Recession the next quarter. However, despite all of this irrational exuberance and the great stress these past two years have brought, I can no longer complain. I have adopted and accepted the Stoic philosophical belief that we must care for our neighbors as this will all pass. History has proven to be very biased when thinking in retrospect, but I hope my current peers use this to improve the future. ....... also, I never mentioned the protests, presidential change, food shortages in Sri Lanka and Peru, or how we have a dollar shortage crisis that nobody is talking about. All things will pass. -
2022-04-29
My Timewarp
It started for me when I returned from a business trip in Europe in March 2020. I had to fly through Germany to get home. Early in the pandemic a new country got added to the no-fly list. When I got back home, I went to work for a few days and then was told from my manager that Germany just got put on the list that if you have been there, you had to quarantine, so I couldn't come to work even though I had already been there for 3 days. So, I worked from home the rest of the week. The next week was spring break and I had it off anyway. We had plans to go to Disneyland. We decided to go and had a two-day pass. We went to the park Thursday and were resting Friday and planned to use our second pass the next day when we got notified through the Disney App that the next day would be the last day the park would be open. Almost 10 minutes later our church sent an email that services would be cancelled for the foreseeable future. My husband and I decided it was best to go home even though we still had a day at Disney. It was sinking in that this wasn’t just a few days of inconvenience. It was serious and we should head home. The next few months were hectic, scary, annoying and lonely. My son was in kindergarten and had to miss a lot of first milestones. School at home for a Kindergartner was a joke, but the time we got to spend time together as a family was nice. My work was accommodating and provided everything I needed at home. Two years later I am still working from home. I gained 15 pounds but I am back to what I was when this all started. Things are getting back to normal now, but inflation is insane and the supply chain is a nightmare. I spent some of the evening today searching for formula for my sister-in-law in Utah. A formula shortage. Something as vital as feeding babies is hard to find. Additionally, Russia invaded Ukraine just over a month ago, so even though the pandemic has settled down, the world hasn’t. God bless us. -
2019-03-17My personal COVID 19 experience
I submitted a screenshot of a test from a coworker taken on March 18,2020. I chose to submit this because it shows what the beginning of the pandemic was like for me. I had got laid off from my job at my retail job, I was nervous to leave my house, and the unemployment office was backed up more than it ever had been. Some of my coworkers had trouble filing with unemployment, and couldn't get it figured out. I waited an extra week to file just so I didn't mess it up, and do it wrong. I wanted all the errors and bugs to be worked out. It was such a unsettling time for me, and I had to move back in with my parents. There was such a large adjustment for all of us. I remember sitting on the phone with my states unemployment hotline on hold for 6 hours and getting hung up on. I cried for the rest of the night. I never thought it would end, or it would be my turn to get the help I needed, to get my questions answered. I look back on this time and am so proud and happy for how far we have come. Everyone had their own struggles, and had to think on their feet. The world had never had to deal with something like this in such a manner of urgency before. Here I stand, 2 years later with a job that is paying for my college, living in a different state, able to see finally be happy and relaxed and stable again. I am so thankful I had such a helpful and supportive group around me to get through that time. It is so refreshing to see the growth of everything and everyone the last couple years. The world can now move forward and progress as normal again. -
2022-04-25COVID-19, Religion, and Public Life Reflection #REL101
this is a look through my point of view living in the year 2020 -
2022-03-11High Anxiety: Poll Finds Americans Stressed by Inflation, War
This is a news story from Health Day by Robert Preidt. This is about a poll on what is making Americans most anxious. War, COVID-19, and inflation are at the top of what is making Americans feel anxious. Another thing the poll tells is that 63% percent said their lives changed forever due to COVID-19. 47% of people that took this poll also said that they have become less active compared to pre-pandemic. 58% said they had unwanted weight changes. Among those that gained more weight than they wanted, the average weight gain reported was 26 pounds. Others have said that the separation from others has put strain on relationships, or ended them. The APA reports that those with reduced social support are more likely to cope with stress. 56% say they could have used more emotional support during the pandemic. This poll had 3,012 respondents in February, and 2,051 from March 1-3. -
2022-02-17Elon Musk Compares Justin Trudeau To Hitler In Bizarre Response To Canadian Trucker Protests
This is a news story from Your Tango by Isaac Serna-Diez. This is about a Twitter rant, where Elon Musk, owner of Tesla, compares Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler over the Canadian Trucker Protests. In January, both the United States and Canada imposed vaccine mandates. According to the American Trucking Association, only 50-60% of all truckers are vaccinated. The truckers have created a convoy that blocks traffic across the US-Canada border in response to the mandates. Trudeau's response to this was to invoke the Emergencies Act, which has't been used since 1988. The Emergencies Act allows for freezing of bank accounts and funds in order to take money away from those protesting. These freezes would also impact things like GoFundMe and the ability to raise funds from that site. It also allows for military involvement, but Trudeau says that he has no plans of doing so. Musk's response to what Trudeau imposed economically on protesters prompted him to promote cryptocurrency more. -
2022-04-05Masks are still required in Mexico
As someone who lives in a border town and travels to Mexico quite often, due to the fact that the U.S dollar in Mexico is twenty pesos, from an economic standpoint, it allows me to enjoy my time in Mexico quite well with my family. The only catch is that masks are required everywhere; it does not matter if you are fully vaccinated or not. As long as you keep using masks, you are good in Mexico, from tourism to recreational activities to travel across the country. It's something to consider when traveling to Mexico because I live 30 minutes away from the border to San Luis, Mexico, and sometimes I forget that I need to wear a mask in Mexico since they are no longer required in the U.S in 2022. -
2020-09-23Iran: The double jeopardy of sanctions and COVID-19
This article discusses the effects of Covid-19 on Iran and how the sanctions imposed on Iran by the Trump administration exacerbated Covid’s effect on Iran’s already weak economy. It highlights Iran’s attempts to reduce the fatality rate despite a shortage of medical supplies. Additionally, the article posits that lifting sanctions during the pandemic might have reduced the death toll by thousands. While there is speculation that the true number of Covid deaths in Iran has been reduced and even misreported, this article highlights the connection between U.S. politics and the effects of sanctions imposed on countries during a public health crisis. -
2022-03-30Trudeau warns of 'difficult time,' food shortages due to Covid-19
This is a news story from the Business Standard. This is about the after effects of COVID on the Canadian population. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warns that it will be a difficult time with food shortages due to COVID. Some of the blame for the food shortages is also placed on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Similar tactics of blaming President Vladimir Putin for the rising prices of goods has also been used by President Joe Biden. The global disruption of supply chains results in higher prices of necessities. Earlier in March, the Canadian government announced that the economy fell short of its anticipated growth for that month. In February, inflation in Canada rose by 5.7%, the highest increase since August 1991. -
2022-03-10Why have women been so disproportionately affected by Covid-19? Experts explain
This is a news story from CNN by Alice McCool. This story talks about the inequalities women have faced during COVID-19. In a CNN poll, women in the G7 countries (US, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, and Italy) felt less supported by their leaders than men did. Some of these inequalities include women being more likely to lose their jobs or take on more uncompensated care work. Other things, such as abortion services, were considered non-essential in some countries during COVID. Minority women and poor women were also more likely to work low-paying jobs and bear much of the economic strain. Additionally, trans healthcare was also viewed as non-essential in many places. In places like Uganda, many women lost their safety net provided from schools, resulting in rising teen pregnancies and early marriages. This article continues showing more examples of the hoops women had to jump through compared to men and demonstrates the social issues that got worse as a result from COVID lockdowns. -
2020-04-20Stacking Refrigerators: A Pandemic Work Story
This image is of me working at a refrigerator plant during the Spring of 2021. Before I started working at my law firm, I bounced around and did odd jobs to make ends meet. I came across this plant job in my hometown because the plant was suffering from severe labor shortages due to COVID-19. The plant was offering higher pay due to labor shortages and was offering to hire in employees faster because of it. We were required to wear mask inside the plant at all times regardless of it being extremely hot and were expected to do overtime and come in on weekends if needed. I did not only want to highlight the work conditions of this job but illuminate businesses began to operate due to the dire conditions of the pandemic. I also wanted to highlight how some people had to continue to work during the pandemic despite setbacks with workers, production numbers, and work conditions. It is important to illuminate stories like these because many essential workers stories are not heard and recognized. Despite unemployment numbers being at all-time high nationally, people are still working. Therefore, it is important to recognize the sacrifices and contributions workers like I had to make in order to continue to support ourselves and our loved ones. -
2020-05-06Murder Hornet is in the air
A comic strip about Covid-19 -
2021-07-05Lockdowns Were a Gift to Big Business Designed to Kill Small Biz
This is an opinion piece by Carol Roth for the New York Post. This news story is about ways in which the lockdowns in 2020/2021 hurt small businesses, but helped big businesses. Roth claims that during the pandemic, small businesses are hitting half or less than half of their pre-lockdown revenue. Some businesses, Roth claims, possibly won’t recover at all. This article says that in 2020, the Hamilton Project accounted for 400,000 closures. I find this article to be important, as I think the business side of the pandemic needs to be told more, as these effects on small businesses impact the local and state economies, in addition to what jobs are available for people looking to go back to work after lockdowns end. -
2022-03-28T08:40Covid the Great Destabilizer
My personal experience -
2022-01-11Arizona teacher shortage getting worse with COVID-19
Arizona teachers have struggled with obtaining higher pay and better funding for years. Add to that a legislative body that doesn’t prioritize educational funding, improving teaching conditions or student learning. When Covid-19 reared its ugly head, the pressure public school teachers normally deal with in overcrowded, undersupplied classrooms intensified and – for many overworked teachers – this was the last straw. Teachers who were in a position to took early retirement. Others simply left the profession for the private sector. Still, some remained and adapted to whatever model of learning their school district employed – sometimes on a week-to-week basis. Now that most schools have returned to an in-person modality, teachers are still leaving the classroom. This article sheds lights on the teacher shortage and how, even still, Arizona educators are contending with Covid-19 in their classrooms and families, leading them to reconsider their decision to stay in education. -
2022-02-25hermit HERALD, ISSUE 138
Russia, more powerful than thought -
2020-08-10Smelling the labor shortage
Trash stinks. This fact is universally recognized, except, maybe, by raccoons and the like. Nobody likes to have trash around, let alone piled up and overflowing. And that's not something that most people have to really worry about. The – at least relative – cleanliness of the streets is taken for granted by the vast majority of people who are privileged enough to enjoy regular cleanup services. For most of my life, I placed my trash in a bag in a bin in my kitchen until it was full, or, if I made chicken for dinner, until I was done cooking. Then I took the bag out of the bin and out to the larger bin outside – out of sight, out of mind. When Sunday night rolled around, I emptied the kitchen bin one final time, took it out, and wheeled the larger bin to the sidewalk. It was empty when I woke up on Monday and thus began the cycle again. The city's sanitation workers faithfully took care of mine and everyone else's trash before the crack of dawn. But something changed one Monday morning in August 2020. I pulled in the driveway at 3:30pm after having just finished an exhausting shift at a coffee shop, where a third of my coworkers had called out sick over the course of that week. As I always do, I walked over to the bin, grabbed the handle, and started wheeling it back to its usual place by the back yard gate. It felt heavy. It wasn't full; I usually don't produce enough trash to fill it up every week. "Was today a holiday?", I thought to myself. No, it was just a regular Monday – as regular as any day could be post-March 2020. Maybe they were just behind schedule. I kept walking back to the back yard gate and. as usual, I spun the bin around intending to just walk away. Being clumsy, I managed to set it off its balance and knocked it over. Trash spilled onto the ground and one of the bags broke open. The smell of rotting eggshells, an old hunk of cheese I found while cleaning out my refrigerator three days prior, and the, er, soiled, cat litter wafted upwards creating a smoldering cocktail of aromas that left me coughing. I got gloves and a mask (something I never would have owned six months back) and cleaned it up – no big deal. Tuesday came and still there was no sign of the sanitation workers. Sunday arrived and again I wheeled the bin to the road; this time it was so full that the lid would not fully close. I assumed that last week's interruption of service was a one-off. As I got home from work Monday and saw the bin still full, I realized the degree to which I had been taking the trash service for granted. I wheeled it back to the gate, went inside, and opened up the news app on my computer. I stumbled across an article about the disproportionate affects of COVID-19 on essential workers. The lack of service was not a one-off, it was a problem. Recent photos of streets littered with trash and overflowing bins abounded when I did a Google search for them. I went outside to go for a walk. That smell – the cocktail of cheese, eggs, and cat litter – was now at my front door. Similar cocktails emanated from each house I walked past, each with their own garnish, so to speak. It was overpowering. It was the first time I had experienced the result of our modality of living in such a visceral, sensory way. But beyond my own discomfort and beyond the discomfort of my neighbors' similar experiences, that overpowering stench that saturated the air made me conscious of the people who clean it up for me every week. It made me conscious of the degree to which we as a society depend of them and people who perform other services we take for granted. It highlighted, in a very stark way, what our society prioritizes above the health of its people. The sanitation workers don't make very much money. They have to go to work, even if they are sick, because lack of guaranteed sick time even in the midst of a raging pandemic puts their lives at risk. Either way, their lives are at risk. -
2022-02-01hermit HERALD, ISSUE 137
Putin vs NATO -
05/03/2021Kyle Sauley Oral History, 2021/05/03
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07/14/2020Amanda McMullen Oral History, 2020/07/14
C19OH -
05/01/2020Silvia Muñoz Mata Oral History, 2020/05/01
En esta entrevista Silvia Muñoz Mata es entrevistada por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Silvia Muñoz tiene 45 años y vive en Heredia. Ella presenta sus experiencias personales sobre la pandemia del covid-19 desde puntos económicos, políticos y sociales. Silvia también presenta sus experiencias laborales, familiares y amistades durante la pandemia y como ha navegado está epidemia. Ella presenta datos específicos de cómo ayuda a personas en situación de problemas intrafamiliares y como se desempeña laboralmente desde su casa devido a la pandemia. Esta entrevista termina con Carmen Kordick Coury expresando su gratitud a Silvia Muñoz por esta entrevista y como aprecia el poder aprender de Silvia y su experiencia como costarricense y su amor por Costa Rica. -
05/17/2020Rodrigo Hernández Cordero Oral History, 2020/05/17
En esta entrevista es Rodrigo Hernández Cordero entrevistado por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Rodrigo es dueño de una tienda de ropa, tiene 63 años y vive en Heredia. Habla del momento que escucho del virus del covid por primera vez y como ha cambiado su vida desde ese momento. Habla de su trabajo como dueño de tienda y como ha cambiado el comercio. Habla de su familia y como el cambio que el ha visto entre sus relaciones familiares. Hablar de la estructura de su hogar y también de su comunidad. Rodrigo también habla de su fe como católico y como ve las misas por la televisión. Rodrigo habla de las noticias siendo su fuente principal de información. Para terminar, hablan del gobierno y su respuesta a la pandemia y también habla del futuro. -
04/30/2020Francisco Guzman Solano Oral History, 2020/04/30
En esta entrevista Francisco Guzman Solano es entrevistado por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Francisco es policía y tiene 42 años. En esta entrevista, Francisco habla de su día normal en su trabajo y con su familia antes de la pandemia, y como cambio su vida al llegar la pandemia del covid. Habla de las series de medidas sanitarias de restricción y como afecto su trabajo. El trabajo de el es de campo, se encargaba de la sección de estacionamientos y lo transfirieron a vigilancia electrónica del cantón. Francisco también habla sobre las restricciones y las multas que el gobierno estaba cobrando y el falto de uso de máscara de el y su familia. También habla de cómo cambio las relaciones con otros miembros de su familia, habla sobre los cambios a su vida social y formas nuevas de divertirse con su familia. Francisco habla de la economía y cambios en trabajo de miembros de su familia, amigos y conocidos. Habla del gobierno y de las instituciones de la Caja, el UCR y El Instituto de Picado. Para terminar la entrevista, Francisco habla de las formas que se informa de la pandemia y otras noticias y sus deseos para el futuro. -
05/26/2020Judy Cherniak Oral History, 2020/05/26
Judy Cherniak discusses how the COVID pandemic changed life for her during the opening months of the pandemic in Toronto, Canada in 2020. She touches on family life, her job loss, the local economy, news media, fake news, isolation, mental health, homelessness, and how she filled her time at home in isolation. -
05/19/2020Trent Jansen Oral History, 2020/05/19
An oral history interview with Trent Jansen. Trent discusses how family and friends have been impacted by the COVID pandemic. He also talks about how his day-to-day work life has evolved during the pandemic. Trent additionally discusses his views that it is time to reopen businesses and get people back to work. He theorizes that mental health issues caused by shutdowns will result in worse long-term issues than the virus itself. -
05/18/2020Stanton Webster Oral History, 2020/05/18
An oral history interview with Stanton Webster who discusses his background opening a distillery in Knoxville, Tennessee before the pandemic. He discusses how his business reacted to the COVID-19 Pandemic and his efforts to keep employees paid while finding new revenue streams. In this business-focused interview he also illustrated how a small group of local business banded together to navigate the pandemic and government funding pitfalls. He also discusses family life and changing roles in the home. -
12/01/2020Wade Pitrucha Oral History, 2020/12/01
Wade Pitrucha, Marine Corps veteran and butcher, was raised in Texas and lived in California for several years, and currently works as a butcher and lives in Barron, Wisconsin. In this interview, Wade discusses the political and economic developments he has observed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wade gives an inside look at the COVID-19 meat shortage, and explains some of the causes, as well as the impacts on farmers and families. Wade also shares some of his personal experiences and frustrations with the local handling of the pandemic, and how he feels the federal government and the Trump administration has contributed to the massive spread of COVID-19 in the United States. In an entertaining and sometimes darkly humorous interview, Wade’s military experience and personal beliefs provide a unique and well-balanced view of the COVID-19 pandemic and modern American society. -
12/16/2020The Bulgarian Oral History, 2020/12/16
In this interview the interviewee wished to be anonymous. In the interview we will be interviews a gentleman from Bulgaria in Eastern Europe. He works in a for a tech company and had to move into the city to find the job away from his small hometown. He tells us what it like in the city and why he would rather be in his hometown. As well he talks how COVID-19 has affected his job and family life and life around the city. In addition, he gives on interesting perspective on how the Bulgarian government is handling the pandemic. As well as what many people in Bulgaria think of the virus such as conspiracy theories and protests not things he personally believes but what citizens around him think at times. -
2021-12-11Olivia Valenti Oral History, 2021/12/11
It illustrates what college was like during the pandemic -
2020-03-26‘This Is the Biggest Challenge We’ve Faced Since the War’: How the Coronavirus Crisis Is Exposing the Precarious Position of Museums Worldwide
The article discusses the financial hit to museums caused by the pandemic and fear and anxiety over how long museums can sustain amid a global shutdown. Whereas federal aid has come to the rescue of some museums provided by select countries for example, Germany and Britain; however, the United States does not have the same relief plans in place for cultural institutions. The pandemic has revealed weaknesses in the current museum model in relation to funding and what the article describes as a “winners take all mentality”. These problems have been compounding for decades but is the pandemic the straw that breaks the camel’s back? What might a new museum model look like if the old one is no longer sustainable? -
2021-06-01Museum Recovery Expected to Take Years Due to Devastating Financial Losses, New Survey Reveals
The American Alliance of Museums report highlights financial problems and some of the more negative long-term impacts resulting from COVID-19 such as reduced overall net revenue for the institution, lower employment numbers, and lower average salary for their staff members. -
2020-09-29Is This the End of Contemporary Art As We Know It?
Artist Liam Gillick and a writer for ArtReview, J.J. Charlesworth talk about the changes brought by the pandemic and the many ways that everything will most likely remain the same. Interestingly, they examine the beginning and end of “contemporary art” and the complex web of economic, social, political and cultural factors that are shifting and breaking down in different ways from our current crises. In the end, the feeling that art will survive but the idea that this particular period of art and the art world has reached its end is contemplated. -
2021-07-20Art Handlers, Contract Workers at Galleries Faced Steepest Losses During Pandemic: Survey
The ARTnews article uses ADAA (Art Dealers Association of America) data from their official survey to consider the far reaching implications of the pandemic on the art world. Examples of staggering job loss in art handlers and contract workers in particular provide a look into possible changes in the artillery model for the short term while in lockdown. Quantitative data on online art fair participation, and percentages of galleries that received the PPP loan are included as well. -
2020-04-16Gagosian Furloughs Part-Time Staff and Interns as Covid-19 Impedes Business
All galleries felt the immense economic pressure of shuttering their doors. There was uncertainty and furloughs or imminent possibility of losing ones job was a looming presence especially in the spring of 2020. Even international blue-chip galleries like Gagosian were financially struggling. Those that lost their jobs were The article discussed job loss - whose jobs - and what this means for the art world in the present and in the future. Other methods of main tenting financially during the pandemic included furloughs and salary cuts where the percentage was determined by how much someone made per year.