Gen-X, Ageism, $145 Billion Startup Contracts 📝

Ageism in Tech

This inequality is worse in startups, that brand themselves as “youth companies”. Especially tech startups. There is a general belief in tech that older guys aren’t adept or adaptable to constant updates in technology. Which is why they are gaslighted, shadow banned or “courteously” fired even though they have deeper insights and experiences.  

For example, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently found that Intel had discriminated against eight older workers during mass layoffs in 2015. 

Even job ads are discriminatory. A recent lawsuit filed by the Communications Workers of America claims that Facebook - one of the largest digital ads platforms - is filtering job ads to younger crowds. 

Workers are being pushed out

As the economy recuperated from the pandemic, the U.S. added 2.7 million jobs for workers under the age of 55 since August and a meagre 28,000 people over 55 years. 

When a new role opens up, managers simply hire younger employees from the outside, rather than promote older capable employees up the chain. This is because, Gen-Xers usually have over 20 years of experience and obviously demand higher pay. But most startup and tech jobs are restructured to attract younger, less compensated workers. This juniorisation of jobs has squeezed out older people in favour of the young.

According to Dan Lyons, former journalist and writer for HBO’s ‘Silicon Valley’, Juniorisation is the brainchild of startup investors on how to get quicker ROI. The optimal return is young kids: Burn them out, get rid of them, replace them.

Small government contractors won big in 2020. 

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, federal agencies awarded a record-breaking $145.7 billion in contracts to small businesses in FY2020 - an increase of $13 billion from FY2019.

Despite the fact that it's been an extremely challenging year for small businesses, the federal government added almost a million jobs to the U.S. economy during the fiscal year through such contracts. 

A June report by Goldman Sachs, and political action committee Center Forwards found that from 2010 to 2019, the number of small businesses that received federal contracts declines by 38%. But in FY2020, agencies awarded over 26% of the total number of contracts to small businesses, exceeding the 23% goal set by them. 

We’re in the era of space tourism. 

Last month we had millionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson touring space. And now in 6 years, we shall have our first space hotel. The Gateway Foundation’s Voyager Station will be ready to house guests by 2027. 

Features: 
The resort will have artificial gravity so that guests can use the toilet, shower and beds without having their filth float in the air. It will accommodate 500 people and offer a gym, restaurant, bar, and all other amenities that a typical 5-star hotel on Earth has.

Technical aspects: 
It’s hard to image what this hotel will look like, but let me see if I can draw a picture using the technicals. 

The structure will be composed of two concentric rings fixed to each other. The outer ring will be the backbone of the station, which will provide the assembly for the housing modules, solar panels, and radiators. The other ring will be the ring of rooms made up of a series of pressurised, connected large modules.

Basically, the whole station will be kinda ring-y, just like the one in that sub-par Chris Pratt movie - Passengers. 

Price:
According to National Geographic, the cost for a three-day sleep-in in the stars will be a $5,000. This obviously doesn’t include your return-travel ticket from Earth to the Voyager or the cost of other paraphernalia required to train and travel to space. Ironically though, this is still cheaper than Disney's Star Wars themed hotel that charges guests $4800 plus taxes for an entry level cabin for a two-night stay. 

• The man who tastes millions of gallons of ice-creams for a living has insured his taste buds for $1 million.  
• Ethereum activated a major upgrade called the London Hard Fork - the cryptocurrency rallied by 4% in 24 hours. 
• Tinder's Q2 revenue jumped 26% YoY, suggesting that people are getting back in the dating game. 
• Electric Vehicles (EVs) to make up 50% of all U.S. auto sales by 2030 - per President Biden's plan. 
• Target plans to attract workers by paying for 100% college tuition and textbooks for employees who wish to study further. 
• Restaurant in New York charged customers $28 for a single bottle of beer; gets called 'criminal' and 'obscene' on Twitter; loses $1m in revenue. 
• Alibaba suspended several staff members after a female employee said she was sexually assaulted by her boss.
• Weird News - A pilot reported a mysterious person with a jetpack - #TheMandalorian - hovering near LAX for the 4th time. The FBI is investigating the case.