The Writer's Life 1/10 - Costs

In his business column in today's NY Post, John Crudele highlights the findings in a new book: The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States 1995-2015 by Alan B. Krueger (Princeton) and Lawrence Katz (Harvard). Their conclusion: 94% of the job growth over the last 10 years has been in “alternative work arrangements.” Those are positions taken by people who aren't attached to a particular company. They are freelancers or temporary workers, or on-call workers and contractors. These alternative jobs now make up 15.8% of the workforce compared to just 10.7% before 2008.

Also from the Post: Thinking of having a child? Here's what it will cost on average, according to the Department of Agriculture: from birth through age 17, $233,610, $14,000 per year. It would be higher in urban areas, lower in rural. I'm picturing Paul Lynde belting out Kids!

The NY Giants were routed in Green Bay, 38-13, then behaved like real losers on the trip home, trashing the plane, which required a two-hour clean-up, causing a delay for other passengers. I hope the airline sends the team a bill and that management passes it on to all personnel who were aboard. It is very hard to root for pro athletes these days. Speaking of which - Knicks' star Derrick Rose was a no-show for last night's game at MSG vs. New Orleans. He supposedly returned home to Chicago to attend to a personal matter. He did not even bother to call the organization's officials. The team lost. Two of its players, Carmelo Anthony and Kyle O'Quinn, were ejected. What was a promising season a couple of weeks ago now seems a disaster in the making.

RIP Steven McDonald, 59, who suffered a massive heart attack several days ago. On July 12, 1986 he was shot while investigating thefts in Central Park. The shooting left him quadriplegic. His son Conor followed in his father's footsteps, joining the NYPD in 2010. Thank you, sirs.

It was a cold session of the floating book shop. I managed to put in nearly two hours. My thanks to the gentleman who bought five thrillers in Russian, to the woman who bought two, and to Shelley, who purchased a Nora Roberts paperback.

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