As the STB considers the proposed merger of the 2nd and 4th largest railroads, worth examining Union Pacific's earnings call this morning where they reported record earnings, driven by price hikes they can implement because there's virtually no competition in the industry.
📅 IN 2 DAYS: How can we not only defend democracy, but expand it to meet our needs?
Join @IPS_DC, @WeBuildProgress, @thenation, & our @owenslindsay1 July 23 in D.C. or online for the FREE Henry A. Wallace Symposium.
Save your spot:
Equifax CEO in the firm's earnings call this morning:
Gas prices back on the rise, now a fresh round of taxes for American shoppers.
Surveillance pricing uses your data to figure out the max you'll pay.
AI shopping assistants are the next frontier — steering you toward sponsored products, concealing better prices, & optimizing for the retailer's bottom line while you think you're getting independent advice.
Gas has crossed back over $4 per gallon
FIFA's use of dynamic pricing was scandalous enough. But that's not the worst of it.
FIFA allegedly gave regular fans the idea they had a chance to sit by the pitch. Instead, FIFA secretly locked them out of the running, while allocating all the best seats to corporate VIPs.
New data released this week showed the wealthy are doing just fine.
But working families are struggling just to maintain their standard of living amid rising prices & slowing wage growth. Debt levels are soaring while saving rates have tumbled.
@BreyonWilliams in @nytimes:
FIFA's choice to use dynamic pricing means more & more passionate fans are excluded. It might be the most costly decision of all.
"How sustainable is that? If it's only a select few who can actually get the access that people need to stay engaged with the game?"
Consumer sentiment edges up in July driven by easing price pressures at the pump, but the new report also warns that “sentiment’s upward momentum may prove difficult to sustain if recent declines in gas prices continue to reverse course.”
AI is coming for your health.
Health insurers are using AI to decide when patients are discharged from hospitals, whether they get diagnostic tests, or how many weeks of rehab they’re entitled to.
It's all about maximizing profit by minimizing care.
46-50: Senate along party lines defeated Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden's effort to repeal a CMS rule that allows the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) model, a new AI-supported prior authorization program, to conduct prior authorization for certain
Republicans just voted to protect Dr. Oz's Medicare prior authorization program that uses AI to deny seniors care. The rollout, which began in January, has been, quote, "horrendous."
One year into the GOP's tax law and billionaires are doing better than ever.
Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Tesla reported $315 billion in U.S. profits for 2025 (+30% from 2024) but they paid less than 5% of that in federal corporate income taxes.
@Groundwork @BMO but as i explained before, regardless of the split in wants vs needs, when you zoom out you're faced with the sobering reality that roughly half of the country doesn't have much discretionary income after taxes and expenses anyway, and that it's been this way for decades:
@Groundwork @BMO @econJaredB link to full story
