More Than Just Data: Sigh

So, that happened.

It is too early for any real analysis of what transpired or what could have been done differently. Thankfully, things have been quiet on the Democratic side and finger-pointing has been minimal. Trump seems likely to win all of the swing states, which is not shocking. What is a complete surprise is that he is likely to win the popular vote, which certainly was not what we saw in the data. To further add to the current mystery, he is likely to win the popular vote with about the same number of votes that he received in 2020 (about 75 million).

It is also worth noting that this post-election period is what it is supposed to look like. No violence, acceptance of the results, and a promise for a smooth transition of power. No claims of fraud, no stories of millions of illegal votes cast, and a sitting president not calling on secretaries of state to find them 40,000 votes. When our country was founded nearly 250 years ago, one of the biggest fears of the Founding Fathers was that a king would take over. They put in as many stopgaps as they could think of to prevent this from happening and, even when there weren’t specific rules or laws in place, George Washington decided not to run for a third term, signaling that it was not just the laws of this new nation that should be followed, but the spirit of the experiment that was our new republic.

For those who are unhappy with the results, it is going to be a tough road ahead. For some groups, it will be decidedly worse. It will take a while for many to work through the shock and emotions of what this could mean for them as individuals and for our country as a whole. If a friend or neighbor needs to talk… listen. If you need to talk, please call someone!

As always, here are some of the data points, outside of the election, that caught our eye this week.

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1)??? 19%

A little over two-thirds of the world currently uses the internet, according to a study posted on Visual Capitalist. Just under 7 in 10 have a mobile phone (about 5.6 billion people). What is fascinating is the variation in cost for data around the globe. On average, people pay $2.59 for every 1 GB of mobile data. Inhabitants of Switzerland are paying the most ($7.29) while the US is in the number two spot, paying an average of $6.00. If you are looking to save some money, Israel ($0.02), Italy ($0.09), India ($0.09), and France ($0.16) are going to be your best bet.

?Cost of Data

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2) 0.25%

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As expected, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point yesterday. According to the announcement, the Fed does not feel that the election results will have a near-term effect on the costs of borrowing. The one bit of surprising news that Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s response to questions of whether he would resign if asked by the new administration to do so was a very clear “no.”

A rate of 4.5-4.75% is the current prediction of where things will likely stand next year according to some analysts, given the potential for large tariffs being applied to imports with the new administration.

No. Nope

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3)??? #1

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2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record for our planet and, if it holds, it will be the first time the average will be 1.5°C higher than pre-industrial levels. If this number sounds familiar, that is the level that was identified as the threshold that we do not want to cross in the Paris Accords since 2.0°C is viewed as the level of no return. Next week is the start of COP29 in Azerbaijan, with delegates in the position of trying to stave off hitting these upper thresholds while also dealing with a less friendly global political landscape.?

#1 is not always good

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We hope you enjoyed this week’s edition and, as always, we look forward to your thoughts and hearing what stories caught your eye this week (besides the obvious....although happy to talk about that too if helpful/needed).