Starting with some art…
With illustrations like this one I am reminded of how far I have come.
This illustration was made in 2020, and when I look at it I see elements of my style now. I also see how I took techniques that worked for me and developed them over time. Because that is what artistic talents really show us, we have tangible proof of our improvements over time.
I hope more people start to value art, artists and all they do to develop their craft. Given that this has not really been the case throughout history (Van Gogh is a prime example of this), most days I feel deflated that this will not happen. My hope is that I am wrong and that People will value artists and their creativity more. I hope your week was full of sunshine and warm days.
Now to the Good News…
Government to replace minimum wage with living wage by 2025
The International Labor Organization is supporting the Indian government with capacity building, data collection, and demonstrating positive economic impacts so that the minimum wage can be replaced with a living wage by 2025. A living wage is defined as income that is essential to meet basic needs. These are the things that all people should reasonably expect to have access to, ensuring a good quality of life. I truly hope India achieves this and that they inspire other countries to follow suit.
Black-Owned Autonomous Grocer Goes Where Other Stores Aren’t
The Hemmings saw a problem and came up with a real solution that has the potential to solve the problem. In the United States food deserts are a real problem because in larger cities grocery stores do not want to spend millions making a large location that will not be as profitable as their suburban counterparts. In places like New York you will find this void filled by the bodega that has all the essentials and even some prepared sandwiches and such.
The Hemmings solution is Nourish + Bloom, a bodega style store which uses AI technology similar to what you would see in Amazon Go stores, however they’re aiming their locations at areas that are underserved. Using the same ai technology also allows for more efficiency and lower overhead, which makes opening and running the bodega way more affordable than any large grocery store could operate at.
Personally, I cannot believe that Shark Tank passed on this idea. AI like this, that helps people who need access to food get what they need I am all for so I hope that the Hemmings succeed.
The Towns Outsmarting Airbnb
Airbnb came into existence on the promise that it would usher in the sharing economy. However, instead of sharing and making use of underutilized space, they caused neighborhoods to be gutted and the community to be priced out of their homes. This has been a huge problem in an already strapped housing market. The good news in all this is that cities are taking their housing back though by passing stricter laws and implementing stricter regulations on the ones that exist. Cities have been passing ordinances and laws ensuring stricter requirements on renters, and many have also passed laws requiring Airbnb police their own platform or be subject to fines for the violators. The end result where implemented is that rents are decreasing and there are less homes just sitting around as short term housing.
The full article is a very interesting read about the downsides of the home sharing market and I highly recommend it.
Thank you so much for joining me on my journey.
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