NOTHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO

*1. NOTHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO

"Americans today say they are generally optimistic about their futures, according to Gallup polling. But one group in particular -- poor white Americans -- has a shockingly dismal view of what the future holds for them. And this pessimism among poor whites goes a long way toward explaining the strange political moment we find ourselves in, one in which Donald Trump surged to the top of the Republican primary ticket by tapping into a deep vein of racial anxiety among the nation's working class." From WaPo - The incredible crushing despair of the white working class

+ "The realization has sparked concerns that poverty begets a certain level of impulsiveness, and that that tendency to act in the moment, on a whim, without fully considering the consequences, makes it all the more difficult for poor children to succeed. But there's an important thing this discussion seems to miss. Poor kids may simply not want to delay gratification. Put another way, their decisions may not reflect the sort of impulsive nature we tend to attribute them to. A recent two-part study conducted by Sturge-Apple shows how the tendency of poorer children to pounce on immediate rewards might not be the result of impulsiveness but rather of careful consideration." From WaPo - The big problem with one of the most popular assumptions about the poor

*2. 'HAMILTON'

News on the Broadway show 'Hamilton' is everywhere, so here's some things to know about the show... "Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show’s 36-year-old creator, wears an unusual number of hats: He came up with the idea; he wrote the music, book and lyrics; and he is, for now, the star. That means he gets a salary (as an actor), as well as authorship royalties and profits that ordinarily would be split among multiple people. On Broadway, “Hamilton” is consistently selling out all 1,321 seats at the Richard Rodgers Theater and is currently grossing about $1.9 million a week in ticket sales. Simply by maintaining that pace, the show would bring in nearly $100 million a year (that’s grosses, not profits)." From NYT - ‘Hamilton’ Inc.: The Path to a Billion-Dollar Broadway Show

+ "The producers of “Hamilton” are sharply increasing the cost of the best seats in the house, shattering Broadway’s top ticket price while also more than doubling the number of inexpensive seats available via same-day lotteries. The paired moves — raising the price for premium seats to $849 while offering 46 seats per show at $10 each — are part of a broader effort to stanch the loss of tens of millions of dollars in potential revenue to scalpers, and to make the show available to people who can’t afford costly theater tickets." From NYT - ‘Hamilton’ Raises Ticket Prices: The Best Seats Will Now Cost $849

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