🐤 A Real Look At The US Economy

Crypto crash expected to last: I told you we'd look into the numbers a bit. Things aren't looking good for crypto investors, with Bitcoin alone dropping approximately 3.23% in the past 24 hours. The Fear & Greed Index has pushed the crypto markets into the 'extreme fear' territory. With buyers not willing to jump in, the crash could continue for months to come.

Phillies fire Joe Girardi: The Phillies, a franchise that has struggled to make the playoffs in the past decade, have fired Manager Joe Girardi. The news comes after the franchise spent an absurd amount of money to sign Bryce Harper several seasons ago.

French Open interrupted by an environmental activist: An environmental activist rushed onto the French Open court during a semifinal game between Norway's Casper Ruud and Croatia's Marin Cilic and attached themselves to the net to spread awareness. The tactic isn't new for environmental activists, but it's not certain these stunts do anything to change environmental policies (which are necessary to protect the earth).

JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jamie Dimon predicted an 'economic hurricane' when speaking at the Bernstein Conference. "Right now it’s kind of sunny, things are doing fine. Everyone thinks the Fed can handle this, that hurricane is right out there down the road coming our way."

However, things are not doing fine despite raw unemployment numbers painting a picture that leads many to believe otherwise. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the....wait for this long description...

Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

A measurement that calculates the level of underemployment among other economic factors is at 7.1%, as opposed to the 3.6% rate for total unemployment. Also, consumer prices are up a staggering 8.5% points from March 2021 - March 2022 (COVID-19 played a role), the largest 12-month increase since 1981.

While the economy is often confusing, there are multiple layers to understanding what is going on; stick with The Early Chirp newsletter for real looks at the economy.

George Burnett, who was appointed as president of the University of Phoenix is stepping down due to a federal inquiry. Burnett was only in the position since February; USA Today was able to obtain documents relating to the matter. The University of Phoenix confirmed the Education Department's inquiry.

The Department of Education is investigating Burnett due to his time at Westwood College, a for-profit university in Colorado that had $130 million in student debt canceled by the federal government due to deceptive practices by the university.

The Department of Education is said to have found credible evidence that admissions officers at Westwood used emotional triggers to manipulate prospective students in to attending the university. According to the USA Today report, Chris Lynee, University of Phoenix's Chief Finalncial Officer (CFO), will take over as interim president.

At a time when student debt is a key talking point, investigations like this build momentum for calls from activists and students who want United States President Joe Biden to wipe education debt, and push legislation that makes tuition on par with other first world nations (aka almost nonexistent to far cheaper than US institutions).

A new study entitled Linking maternal involvement in child online learning to child adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic: The moderating role of maternal mindfulness shows children with mindful mothers have increased pre-academic skills and are less likely to exhibit internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

The participants of the study were 236 Chinese mothers whose children studied in four kindergartens in Hong Kong, China. The observational portion of the study took place between December 2020 and January 2021, when Hong entered the fourth wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. During this time, children moved fully to an online learning environment.

While the signs show that mindfulness can help children learn and display healthy internal and external behaviors, a longer study is likely necessary to come to a full conclusion. Also, fathers were not a portion of the study, so there isn't any data to suggest whether children displayed different pre-academic results and behavioral patterns if a father was displaying mindfulness in a similar environment.

However, the study shows positive signs regarding online learning (which is likely to increase in upcoming years) and how children can develop a foundation for positive mental health.