The number of retail, or non-professional, investors has grown exponentially in the U.S. throughout the pandemic. Large retail trading sites such as E*TRADE, TD Ameritrade, and Charles Schwab saw their number of new users increase by 103% compared to last year. At the same time, Robinhood had 3 million new accounts opened in the first quarter of 2020, almost double the first quarter of 2019. The transition from betting to investing is very concerning as it suggests that there is now a large number of investors who treat investing like gambling.
Trinity Perspectives
Connecticut needs House Joint Resolution 58 — universal absentee voting
Even though Connecticut is a blue state with a Democratically controlled house, senate and governor, it is just one of seven states in the nation does not allow universal absentee voting prior to election day.
The religious exemption must go
For many Americans, receiving the COVID-19 vaccine has inspired feelings of relief, excitement, and pride. The vaccine both protects against a rampant disease and represents the beginning of a return to normalcy following a devastating 13 months of isolation, working from home, and Zoom birthday parties. While excitement regarding the long-awaited vaccine is shared by millions of Americans, cries of opposition and anti-vaccine rhetoric have resurfaced along with it.
College students in Connecticut should be vaccinated now
If the state of Connecticut wants its institutions of higher learning to return to normal in the fall, it’s going to have to get shots into the arms of the students.
SB 1018: Connecticut’s effort to increase prosecutorial accountability and why it will not work
Senate Bill 1018 does not solve Connecticut’s largest criminal justice problem: outcomes for crime victims and defendants vary based on zip codes because judicial districts operate independently of one another.
Private companies should not profit from inmates’ telephone calls
Despite the state of the world due to COVID-19 restrictions, neither phone fees for inmates nor fees for commissary items have been decreased in the state of Connecticut, even though these fees have been decreased in other states such as Arkansas due to the pandemic. There is no excuse as to why Connecticut is unable to compromise these fees for inmates and their families during these difficult times.
No-bid contracts: Insight to outsourcing oversights
It is no secret that the current COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world upside down. Among one of the greatest concerns of this new global reality is rising unemployment rates. In Connecticut, the dramatic increase in unemployment has left the state’s Department of Labor overburdened with requests for unemployment benefits. In response, Gov. Ned Lamont invoked his emergency powers in late September to contract with two private companies, Protiviti and Maximus, to help manage the increased number of requests.
Can the big yellow school bus make it out of the pandemic alive?
As someone who grew up in Connecticut and someone who rode the big yellow school bus for years, I can’t imagine those big yellow buses out of business. When students were transitioned to remote learning, buses remained idle for months. Even though the virus created a budget deficit, state and local governments should have required all Connecticut public schools to pay private bus companies.
To deliver or not deliver: Facing privatization and long-term impacts on the U.S. Postal Service
Throughout the global pandemic, many Americans began to understand the magnitude and impact of the United States Postal Service within their daily life. Many Americans experienced drastic mail and package delays during this pandemic. The biggest critiques faced by the USPS concern the agency’s accountability and true efficiency. However, the USPS cannot operate efficiently amid the loss of funding.
Connecticut charter schools take advantage of PPP funding, while traditional public schools are left behind
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, charter schools in Connecticut accepted loans from the Small Business Administration Payment Protection Program (PPP). The paycheck protection program is a federal program, implemented during the coronavirus pandemic, that provides loans to small businesses to incentivize them to keep their workers on payroll. They come with low interest rates, two to five years to pay back the loan, and no small business fees. None of these loans were available to traditional public schools, as they are not considered businesses.
School boards should help keep private school bus companies afloat
School boards around the country may be trying to save public funding due to budget cuts made during the pandemic, but in return, are not paying all of their contractors who provide services to the schools.
The reprivatization of Fannie and Freddie will blunt improvement of racial wealth gap
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac perform a significant role in the housing market, controlling nearly half of the $10 trillion U.S. home loan market. The Trump administration has vowed to end the Fannie and Freddie conservatorship relationship, directly causing mortgages to become more expensive and harder to receive. This will destabilize the economy and pause any improvement in the racial wealth gap.
Outsourcing elections materials has its risks
If you received an absentee ballot application in September for the upcoming election, it may have come from New York. Mine was mailed by a private mail house, Fort Orange Press in Albany, NY. For the August primary, the Connecticut Secretary of the State’s office contracted with a private mailing house to send out absentee […]
Make your vote count and protect the USPS
An individual’s right to vote in the upcoming national elections may be compromised if the Trump Administration’s push for privatizing the United States Postal Service (USPS) succeeds. Millions of Americans, including Connecticut residents, will send their ballots by mail this year to avoid any unnecessary and potential exposure to the coronavirus, but undermining the USPS may delegitimize crucial votes.
Corporate immunity in a pandemic; ALEC v. coronavirus
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization where corporate lobbyists and legislators co-write model bills, works in direct opposition to the accountability ideal as it strives to protect corporations from COVID-19 related lawsuits.