Something rare happened in the Senate this week.
Hawley & Durbin agreed: surveillance pricing is "one of the biggest scams in American history."
As @owenslindsay1 said: "They catalog your location, your purchase history, & even your cursor movements to predict exactly how much
The most consequential part of this week's hearing before @JudiciaryDems?
Our @owenslindsay1 described not today's problems, but tomorrow's:
"As AI agents gain access to your habits, purchases, & personal conversations, the risk of being ripped off will only grow."
Today’s job report was BAD.
The economy lost 23,000 jobs
Leisure & hospitality lost jobs in June and July, even though the U.S. hosted the World Cup!
264,000 people left the labor force, following the 1 million that left in Jan and the 700,000 that left in June
This is a bleak July jobs report:
-23,000 jobs lost in July. (Losses occurred in retail, finance, hospitality, local gov't education)
-264,000 people leave the labor force
-Wage growth falls to 3.2% = lowest in 5 years (and totally wiped out by inflation right now)
***Lowest
The economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, and job growth in May and June was revised down by a combined 103,000. After those revisions, the economy has added just 20,000 jobs per month on average over the past three months.
The #TrumpToll is hitting families just as they’re getting ready to send their kids back to school.
School supply prices are up 7.7%, an even bigger jump than last year. And the essentials families rely on to pack school lunches? Up 11%.
From backpacks and notebooks to the food
As the job market ticks into the red, workers with jobs are clinging to their paychecks. Real wages are slipping as prices continue to rise with no relief in sight.
Big MISS on jobs. The mini-boom at the beginning of the year is no more. The trend is clear, and headed in the wrong direction.
Trump is corrupt and unpopular, but Democrats aren't capitalizing. Drop the Qatari jet and the Reflecting Pool and connect Trump's corruption to the thing voters care about: their pocketbooks. With @alivitali 👇
Our @owenslindsay1 testified before @JudiciaryDems this week with a simple message about corporate surveillance pricing:
"The answer can't be to teach everyone how to beat the machine. We must set rules of the road so the machine plays fair."
REMINDER: Republicans cut $187 BILLION from SNAP in order to fund their billionaire tax break.
That's about... checks notes... 37,400,000,000 Costco rotisserie chickens.
Just saying.
Senate Ag panel set to vote on rotisserie chicken in SNAP http://dlvr.it/TTt69z
Every tech CEO says the same thing: AI will free up workers from repetitive tasks, boost productivity, and make everyone's job better.
66% of American workers disagree.
Across the board, workers report AI putting more pressure on productivity rather than supporting workers.
I've written at length about we should pair structural solutions with immediate relief.
Again: if we only tinker at the edges, we stay gridlocked. If we propose structural fixes but ignore immediate needs, we stay gridlocked. We need both.
What is surveillance pricing, and how does it affect small business? Join us and @Groundwork to learn how this growing practice by big online retailers impacts small business owners. https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OGRb18A9TTS084q3N1xyHQ
Yesterday's Senate hearing was a shocking look into how companies ripoff consumers using secret pricing techniques.
“Companies shouldn’t be able to use your online history, your past purchases, or your location to charge you a higher price for food," @owenslindsay1 testified.
