Month: May 2023

The U.S is currently facing one of the worst drug shortages it has ever experienced. As of today, 267 medications are considered to be in a shortage. This includes cancer medications, antibiotics, cough and cold medications, and attention deficit medications such as Adderall. Supply chain failures are partially to blame, but much of the issue ultimately stems from the FDA’s recommended production amounts, which have failed to account for the increased demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because these recommendations are enforced by the DEA, there is very little room for negotiation which leaves consumers holding the short straw if Continue reading Drug Shortages in the U.S.→

 American healthcare is distinctly different from most other western nations. Employer based healthcare makes healthcare unattainable to many and a constant expense to almost all Americans. How did we come to make healthcare and employment a package deal? In the early 1920’s the first iterations of health insurance came to be as hospitals and doctors formed groups to provide insurance. These insurances are still around today, they are Blue Cross and Blue Shield. These plans were made to make healthcare more accessible as hospitals began turning larger profits, however, these plans were almost exclusively purchased on an individuals personal basis. Continue reading How did we get here? Healthcare in America→

As most Puget Sound students are well aware universities, ours included, have been struggling post pandemic. Enrollment rates are down across the country, and so in turn many universities are struggling to make ends meet. Though undergraduate learning was declining pre pandemic, online learning has accelerated this decline. Nationwide undergraduate enrollment fell by 9.4% between 2020 and 2022. Financially, a little over 60% of colleges saw tuition revenue decline, though these losses are often associated with smaller schools, the big-name Ivy’s saw the same drops in tuition revenue. Colleges rely on tuition as their main source of funding, so these Continue reading A Brief Discussion about UPS and Other Colleges in Post-Pandemic Society→

Most people know about the underrepresentation of women within STEM fields, but most aren’t aware of inequality within the field of economics. Economics is dominated by men with little representation of women as well as racial and ethnic minority groups.  Roughly 25% of all economics faculty are women, with that percentage decreasing to just 15% for full professors. Only about 34% of undergrad economics majors are women. Those percentages have stayed roughly the same since the 90s. One reason for such a lack of representation within the major is that females tend to get discouraged and receive harsher criticism than Continue reading Women in Economics→