Penelope Wang
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pennywriter.bsky.social
Penelope Wang
@pennywriter.bsky.social

Freelance writer/editor. Focus: personal finance, consumer protection, preserving civilization. Priors: Consumer Reports, Money mag.
Reposted by Penelope Wang
"If the cost of doing business rises for an insurer and the regulatory regime doesn’t allow prices in the marketplace to rise at a commensurate level, then private insurers might choose to not do business in an area,” says @stevekoller.bsky.social. @reuters.com

www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...
How a US home insurance fix is becoming a problem
U.S. states have set up insurers to provide protection in disaster-prone areas that private insurance has avoided. They are taking on more risks as calamities become widespread.
www.reuters.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Also, complain long and loud, when GenAI screws up your interaction with a company - obtaining/using their products, contacting customer service, whatever. Do this direct and on social media. Employees may well be unable to push back against directives to use this garbage without risking their jobs.
This!
You DON’T HAVE TO USE IT!
It’s so easy NOT to use it.
They can’t force us to use it.
stop rolling over & saying “Well, you just have to get used to it. You can’t stop it”… how’d that work for <insert absolute garbage tech or even any insidious, violent movement (like the NF or N*zis) here>?
ALL you have to do is just not use it, tell these companies you aren't using it, and make fun of people who do. We need a mass collective effort to make genAI extremely uncool, lame, embarrassing, cringe. Everyone needs to react to it with a MOUNTAIN of hostility until they run out of steam.
December 1, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
If Americans are really at an inflection point with the price of driving, which may be as all costs (insurance, repairs, even parking) are going up, then now is the prefect time to invest in alternatives to driving. They’re looking for options! Gift link.
American Consumers Lose Patience With High Car Prices
Shoppers are starting to draw the line on what they will pay for a new car, with some turning to used vehicles, taking on longer car loans and holding out for deals.
www.wsj.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
I found this genuinely enlightening. It explains a lot that has puzzled me over the years.
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
December 1, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
The news has entirely failed to grasp the unprecedented scope of the ICE and DHS budgets. Nothing like it in modern history. A galaxy of public/private surveillance and caging institutions for $100,000,000,000s unleashed on a public that will be forever changed. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
ICE Wants to Go After Dissenters as well as Immigrants
The Trump administration is being open about its plans to violate Americans’ First and Fourth Amendment rights.
www.brennancenter.org
December 1, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Paul Krugman says 47 in deeper trouble than he expected #USpol #EconSky youtube.com/watch?v=_xB6...
Trump Is In FAR Deeper Trouble Than I Anticipated | Paul Krugman
YouTube video by ThinkAxis
youtube.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Realtors know that, in many parts of the country, if you educate people about climate risk, the housing market will collapse.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/c...
Zillow Removes Climate Risk Scores From Home Listings
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Colleges Are Preparing to Self-Lobotomize
The skills that students will need in an age of automation are precisely those that are eroded by inserting AI into the educational process.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Colleges Are Preparing to Self-Lobotomize
The skills that students will need in an age of automation are precisely those that are eroded by inserting AI into the educational process.
www.theatlantic.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Eleven years ago, I wrote to Tom Stoppard to ask about this coup de théâtre from 1949. It took me down an unexpected rabbit hole - in memory of Stoppard, here's what I found.
November 30, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Good morning, kids.
Have some alpenglow with your coffee. ☕️
November 28, 2025 at 2:37 PM
With his "astonishing White House access," David Sacks has amassed 708 tech investments, including at least 449 stakes in companies with ties to AI that could be aided directly or indirectly by his policies, NYT analysis shows. (gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/t...
Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Imagine if they just subsidized newspapers and magazines the way they’re subsidizing this slop
"All of this falls apart if humans don't adopt the tech. This is why you've seen Meta cram its lame chatbots into WhatsApp and Instagram. This is why Notepad and Paint now have useless Copilot buttons on Windows. This is why Google Gemini wants to "help you" read and reply to your emails."
Analysis: OpenAI is a loss-making machine, how can it survive?
Don't call it a bubble! Loss-making monster OpenAI is on the hook for $1.4 trillion (with a T) in compute commitments. How can this go on?
www.windowscentral.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Very hard eldercare and logistics is a subject I have extensive experience with. This article nails why it's so hard, including logistics, $, coordination w/ family, $ again, & no one wants to hear you talk about it. The author acknowledges she had a lot of resources others won't. Gift link:
Opinion | The People Holding Everyone Together Are Coming Apart
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Puffins have returned to Northern Ireland’s Isle of Muck (seriously, that’s its name) for the first time in at least 25 years. Tales of puffins on the island “felt more like folklore,” said nature reserves manager Andy Crory, but now they’re coming back. buff.ly/oBQlH6r
#ShareGoodNewsToo
Puffins: Isle of Muck comeback 'proves restoration works'
Puffins have been seen on the Isle of Muck off Antrim for the first time in at least 25 years
buff.ly
November 29, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Every single resident of a community should be counted in the census so that everyone in that community — including U.S. citizens — have the resources they need. It’s that simple.
November 29, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Headline: "AI can replace 11.7% of workforce"

Actual study: Anthropic paid MIT to use a "labor simulation tool" that said 11.7% of TASKS could be done by AI
MIT study finds AI can already replace 11.7% of U.S. workforce
Artificial intelligence can already replace 11.7% of the U.S. labor market, across finance, health care and professional services, according to MIT's study.
www.cnbc.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
A🧵
This is profoundly irresponsible by AGSulzberger’s NYT, @by-cjewett.bsky.social +eds.

The normalization, “view-from-nowhere”, “born-yesterday”, stenography, “both-sides”, irresponsible headline are disgraceful.
THE story is the CDC&FDA are being destroyed by antiscience & Americans will die.
1/n
November 29, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
NYPD Clears a Path for Federal Agents on Canal Street With Violent Arrests and Pepper Spray

An immigration crackdown was scheduled for Saturday afternoon on Canal Street, but was abandoned after demonstrators and vendors caught wind of it.
NYPD Clears a Path for Federal Agents on Canal Street With Violent Arrests and Pepper Spray
An immigration crackdown was scheduled for Saturday afternoon on Canal Street, but was abandoned after demonstrators and vendors caught wind of it.
hellgatenyc.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
ICE convoy retreats from Manhattan's Chinatown after hundreds of New Yorkers confront them.
Around two dozen car/vans have sped out of the garage, with NYPD officers clearing the path. One guys tries to stop them, NYPD officers come chasing.
November 29, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
ICE still FROZEN at Centre St & Howard in lower Manhattan right now as calls continue circulating for people to join.

NYPD arriving with barricades.
November 29, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
Medicare Advantage woos seniors with plan perks, but a study found they often go unused
Medicare Advantage woos seniors with plan perks, but a study found they often go unused
Most Medicare Advantage enrollees say the extra perks offered by their plans are important, but less than half are taking advantage, a new study finds.
yhoo.it
November 29, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Penelope Wang
A new global study shows that AI adoption varies by seniority, with 87% of executives using it on the job, compared with 57% of managers and 27% of employees. It also finds that executives are 45% more likely to use the technology on the job than Gen Zers …
Execs are embracing AI more than their employees are, new research suggests
Research from HR software company Dayforce suggests that executives are leaning into AI far more than their employees.
www.businessinsider.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:51 PM
An FTC report found that retailers could track consumer behavior as subtle as movement on a mousepad to set personalized prices. A NY law could shed light on the practice. (gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/n...
N.Y. Law Could Set Stage for A.I. Regulation’s Next ‘Big Battleground’
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:06 PM
“We know this is not about peace. It’s about business.” (gift link)
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
Make Money Not War: Trump’s Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine
The Kremlin pitched the White House on peace through business. To Europe’s dismay, the president and his envoy are on board.
www.wsj.com
November 29, 2025 at 2:25 PM