Signs the economy is bad: November 3, 2017 edition

Welcome to another edition of "Signs the Economy is Bad" here at The Itinerant Librarian. This is the semi-regular (as in when I have time and/or feel like doing it) feature where I scour the Internet in search of the oh so subtle hints that the economy is bad. Sure, pundits may say things are getting better, but what do they know? And to show not all is bad, once in a while we look at how good the uber rich have it.

Part of me was hoping to take a break this week, but the Bad Economy had other ideas. So here we are again. Let's have a look at some of what has going on the past week.

• A big item this week is the story of the Tokyo (Japan) company that gives extra time off to workers who do not smoke. This is to compensate those who do not  smoke and thus do not get "smoking breaks." I think this is an idea that needs to catch on. If we non-smokers have to pick up the slack of smoking asshats who  need a break to feed their addiction, we need to be compensated fairly too. Story via The Lexington Herald-Leader.
• Did you know in Kentucky your small boat is taxed much higher than a big luxury boat? (this link leads to a short  video clip) Just one  of the many tax fuckeries in the state that the Lexington Herald Leader has been highlighting this week. 
• Meanwhile, the military industrial complex is doing just fine (even if it is at the expense of everything else). We do not need health care or schools or roads. Just keep putting in those trillions into the war machine. Story via Alternet. When it comes to war, George Orwell, in Nineteen Eighty-Four, said it well, "It eats up the surplus of consumable goods, and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that the hierarchical society needs."  
• Want to learn more? The Department of Defense has a new report on the topic too. Story via Federation of American Scientists.
• Under ridiculous news, John "Papa John" Schnatter decided that the reason his company is having low pizza sales is the NFL and their players protesting the U.S. anthem. I am sure it has nothing to do with his greedy attitude regarding his employees health care needs, his franchisees engaged in wage theft, or the fact his pizza is  so-so compared to local options (if you have local options).  Stories via Salon, International Business Times, and USA Today.
• The U.S. Postal Service is considering doing Sunday delivery during the holidays season. Story via The Christian Science Monitor.
• In some positive news, Halloween candy sales did very well in 2017. Story via NPR. 
• Apparently Facebook was passing Russian trolls' political ads during the election campaign, and this has caused some shock to some folks. This article from Inside Higher Ed argues  you should not be shocked: Facebook worked exactly the way it is designed to work as an advertising platform. It is all part of something called surveillance capitalism, definitely a sign of the bad economy. 
• Meanwhile, more from higher education where recent study finds that women with male partners seeking a junior faculty position (think assistant professor in the tenure line) face more bias than men with a spouse when it comes to hiring. Story via Inside Higher Ed.
• And finally for this week, yet another article on an issue that does not go away: college students, homelessness, and food insecurity. Again, via Inside Higher Ed.