Here are three stories people are talking about this week.
Stirred to action
Starting this summer, Alaska Airlines is replacing non-recyclable plastic stir straws and citrus picks – they used 22 million last year – with sustainable, marine-friendly alternatives on all domestic and international flights, as well as in Alaska’s lounges across the country. For people with special needs, they’ll happily provide non-plastic, marine-friendly option, upon request.
Read all about their efforts here.
What this means for you: Your in-flight experience will be no different, there will just be tens of millions fewer plastic bits in the ocean. That’s something we can all get on board with.
Americans not ready for emergencies
According to Bankrate, 23% of Americans have no emergency savings whatsoever, while 22% have less than three months' worth of expenses saved.
Read the full report here.
What this means for you: Six months is the recommended magic emergency savings number – and to be fair, that can be a lot of money. The best way to start saving is to start budgeting. Need a little motivation? These guys will give you $1,000 when you complete their finance course.
Workers aren’t making enough
The reason that many of us don’t have that money stashed away is pretty clear: Over the past 12 months, piddling wage gains, combined with modest inflation, have left the vast majority of our nation’s laborers with lower real hourly earnings than they had in 2017.
Read the OECD report for more labor and wage stats.
What this means for you: Eh, it’s tough to say. This report firmly discredits the theory that workers wage issues can be attributed to their personal finance efforts. American policymakers have designed an economic system that leaves workers desperate and disempowered, for the sake of directing a higher share of economic growth to bosses.
