Month: April 2022

By the end of 2021, we experienced two new variants of the COVID pandemic (Delta & Omicron). There has been a decrease in housing inventory, causing home prices to soar to a 19.9% in value. The United States has experienced a 7% increase in inflation, a shortage of microchips affecting the supply of home appliances and electronic gear, favorite food items randomly going missing from stores periodically, coin shortages at local retailers, and emergency preparedness gear out of stock.   

In 2022, We see photos of destruction in Ukraine and war stories filtered through our news feeds. Our fuel prices are soaring, and food prices continue to climb. It can have a frightening effect! The U.S. has placed “severe sanctions” against Russia for attacking Ukraine. We can only speculate how Russia will respond and how these sanctions will affect the U.S. economy. Russia’s top exports are wheat, crude oil, natural gas, precious metals, fertilizer, and metals (iron, steel, copper, aluminum). 

It brings to mind questions like, is there a way to prep for a wartime economy? Am I prepared for higher food prices, grain shortages, stock market fluctuations, and a sense of peace despite economic changes? 

Peace comes from having a plan! If you have been gathering extra food and stocking away other essential survival gear, then the answer is YES! Being prepared takes planning. Will there be some inconveniences – SURE – but that is life! It is important not to get caught up in doomsday headlines. Below are seven ways to prep for a wartime economy and feel some measure of control during uncertain times.

 

7 Ways to Prep a Wartime Economy

 

1. Consider Ways to Use Less Gas

With sanctions on Russia, it is widely believed that we will continue to see fuel prices race upwards. We use gas in our cars, trucks, RVs, generators, and lawnmowers. A hefty increase in prices can devastate a household’s budget. Make simple changes now before you feel the hurt in your pocketbook. Meal plan and try consolidating all of your errands to fewer trips to the supermarket per month. Teardrop Trailers are in high demand. Gas-guzzling RVs are being traded for smaller, gas economic trailers. Electric bikes are another way you can minimize fuel costs. 

 

 

2. Stock Up On Grains

Russia is the #1 international exporter of wheat. Common food staples such as pasta, bread, and cereal are made of wheat. It was hard to find these food items during the start of the pandemic; most grocery stores couldn’t get these items on the shelves fast enough. Grains were sold out! Currently, most have restocked their inventory. So now is a good time to stock up on grains your family eats on a regular basis. Living…

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By Ben Winters, EPIC Counsel

This week, Politico’s Alex Thompson detailed the close relationship between the Biden administration’s Office of Science and Technology Policy and Schmidt Futures, the philanthropic initiative of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The links between Schmidt Futures and Biden’s OSTP add to the already significant influence of Schmidt, who is heavily invested in AI companies, in crafting AI policy for the United States.

Politico’s piece explained how the organization indirectly paid the salaries of now-OSTP Chief of Staff Marc Aidinoff while he was working for the agency and had a similar arrangement for other OSTP staffers. Another OSTP staff member was urged by OSTP’s legal team to withdraw from a Schmidt Futures-funded fellowship. Politico also reported that “Twoother OSTP officials continued to work part-time at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT in Cambridge, Mass., a leading biotech facility that had been headed by [former OSTP Director Eric] Lander and where Schmidt chairs the board.”

The U.S. Government has not yet enacted legislation or dedicated substantial funding to protecting individuals from the threats that automated decision-making systems and AI pose to privacy rights or the discriminatory impacts they encode and exacerbate. Despite some agency steps toward protecting individuals—such as actions taken by the Federal Trade Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission—a pair of largely unfulfilled Executive Orders and piecemeal enforcement has ensured that federal policy prioritizes AI development over the protection of rights. EPIC detailed this funding disparity in recent comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. EPIC advocates for building oversight, testing, and regulatory capacity to prevent, control and remediate AI harm.

The federal government has, however, created several influential advisory boards to help inform policy and funding decisions. One of these bodies was the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, or NSCAI. The NSCAI was charged with “review[ing] advances in artificial intelligence, related machine learning developments, and associated technologies” and making policy recommendations to Congress and the President. The NSCAI, like the Defense Innovation Board, was chaired by Eric Schmidt and included executives of large tech companies that regularly vie for defense contracts such as Google, Oracle, and Amazon. These companies stand to profit from the recommendations the Commission made.

Although squarely covered by the Freedom of Information Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires advisory committees to hold open public meetings, the NSCAI initially refused to comply with its transparency obligations. EPIC filed suit after the Commission failed to act on EPIC’s open government requests throughout its first year of operation. As a result of EPIC’s case, the Commission was ordered by a court to open its meetings and records to the public. As part of the Commission’s compliance with EPIC’s FOIA request, EPIC received several presentations from outside groups that informed some of the NSCAI’s report: one which framed U.S. AI policy in terms of direct competition with China and argued that the U.S. was lacking…

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By the end of 2021, we experienced two new variants of the COVID pandemic (Delta & Omicron); home prices have soared to a 19.9% increase in value, and there has been a decrease in housing inventory. We experienced a 7% increase in inflation, a shortage of microchips affecting the supply of home appliances and electronic gear, favorite food items randomly going missing from stores periodically, coin shortages at local retailers, and emergency preparedness gear out of stock.   

We see photos of destruction in Ukraine and war stories filtered through our news feeds. Our fuel prices are soaring, and food prices continue to climb. It can have a frightening effect! The U.S. has placed “severe sanctions” against Russia for attacking Ukraine. We can only speculate how Russia will respond and how these sanctions will affect the U.S. economy. Russia’s top exports are wheat, crude oil, natural gas, precious metals, fertilizer, and metals (iron, steel, copper, aluminum). 

It brings to mind questions like: am I prepared for higher prices, grain shortages, stock market fluctuations, or a host of other things. 

If you have been prepping (gathering food storage and stocking away other essential survival gear), then it’s possible that YES, you are prepared for whatever the future holds. Will there be some inconveniences – SURE – but that is life! It is important not to get caught up in doomsday headlines. Here are several ways to prep your home for a wartime economy and feel some measure of control during uncertain times.

 

Prepping Your Home for a Wartime Economy

 

1. Consider Ways to Use Less Gas

With sanctions on Russia, it is widely believed that we will continue to see fuel prices race upwards. We use gas in our cars, trucks, RVs, generators, and lawnmowers. A hefty increase in prices can devastate a household’s budget. Make simple changes now before you feel the hurt in your pocketbook. Meal plan and take one trip to the store a month instead of going once a week. Many preppers are trading in their gas-guzzling RVs for small Teardrop Trailers. Electric bikes are another way you can minimize fuel costs. Last year my household gas budget was $180 (I know that is much lower than most US households). I’m making budget adjustments now as prices continue to climb.

 

 

2. Stock Up On Grains

Did you know that Macaroni and Cheese were very popular during WWII? When dairy was rationed and in short supply during the war, a box of Mac & Cheese satisfied people’s cravings for the taste of cheese. Are you into sweet, spicy, crunchy, cheesy, chocolatey, or salty? Make sure you have some basic food staples stocked away, plus some foods that will curb a craving. I’ve been stashing a few boxes of brownies.

Russia is…

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EPIC has submitted comments applauding the Bureau’s inquiry into the growing Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) alternative credit market, but urging the Bureau to inquire further into customer acquisition and data governance practices. Rohit Chopra, Director of the CFPB, described BNPL as “the new version of the old layaway plan, but with modern, faster twists where the consumer gets the product immediately but gets the debt immediately too.” BNPL consumers are typically lower-income, younger, and experience greater income volatility. Successfully paying off BNPL credit does not strengthen the consumer’s credit because BNPL is an alternative form of credit, however failure to pay can negatively impact a consumer’s traditional credit rating. EPIC explained that “business models predicated on using alternative data present a substantial risk for predatory practices.” EPIC’s recommendations included that the CFPB request more granular detail about BNPL providers’: customer targeting and acquisition programs; acquisition and use of consumer data; data minimization, retention, and deletion practices; and policies regarding consumer and third-party access to data and to provider decisions. EPIC regularly files comments and amicus briefs on matters related to consumer privacy, big data, and algorithmic accountability, especially in the context of determinations of creditworthiness.

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