⛺ Summer camp blues

NYC may finally start charging drivers for the hassle of navigating congested lower Manhattan, something it’s been trying to do for years. (We last covered it in 2019!)

The federal government is expected to approve its Central Business District Tolling Program after a public review period ends today, per CNN.

How it works

The program is designed to reduce congestion in the area, where 700k vehicles travel daily.

If implemented, drivers would pay $9-$23 to drive below 60th Street during peak hours starting next spring. Some, such as taxi/ride-share and low-income drivers, may receive discounts or exemptions.

Opponents, including taxi and ride-share drivers and those from the suburbs and outer boroughs, have been fending off congestion pricing for over a decade.

But proponents say it matters, because that much traffic:

• Costs New Yorkers, on average, 117 hours and ~$2k in lost productivity annually
• Creates pollution (including noise pollution from all the honking)

Also: New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority would use congestion fees to improve public transit, which residents could use to dine, shop, and work in the area — sans the stress of driving and parking.

This might sound wild for the car-loving USA…

… but similar policies have been implemented elsewhere.

• London improved congestion by 30% after implementing charges in 2003.
• One study found that Stockholm, which implemented congestion pricing permanently in 2007, had reduced air pollution by 5%-15%.

But the OG champ? Singapore’s been doing it since 1975.

Last week, we went to Space Camp; this week, we’re back for more out-of-this-world summer camps — unfortunately for parents, it’s the prices that land in outer space.

Camps aren’t all exorbitantly priced, but they’re increasingly packing a financial punch, per Bloomberg Businessweek.

• The average day camp cost ~$178/day last summer, up from $76 in 2021.
• Sleepaway camp bills will indeed chase all sleep away: This year, overnight programs will average $450/day, almost 3x 2022’s rates.

Why so expensive?

You know this answer: inflation. Labor and food costs top camp operators’ list of grievances.

Demand’s also way up, as households with two working parents — now 65% of US families — seek child-care support…

… and seek miracles, too: Parents are willing to pay a premium for camps that deliver on the connection and learning kids lost over the pandemic — and do so without screens.

1) It’s a bright future ahead for America’s electricians, who now number a record 1.032m. With a 7.4% YoY jolt to earnings in April, US electricians are now earning an average of $37.51 per hour, or $78k per year.

2) The return-to-office shuffle appears to be in full swing, with 600k US workers facing new return mandates last month. As the tech industry comes to grips with the fact that pantslessness and productivity may not actually go hand in hand, the sector accounted for 200k+ workers facing new mandates.

3) Breaking: The Meta morale meter. An internal survey of employees, who are still weathering the aftermath of 21k+ job cuts, found just 26% felt confident in leadership in May, down 5% from October, and 43% said they felt valued, down 15%.

4) With Prime Day expected next month, our thoughts go out to all the wallets and delivery trucks that’ll be working their tuchuses off to satisfy humankind’s insatiable desire for innovative vegetable-chopping gadgets. Last year, Amazon’s 200m+ Prime members bought 300m+ items during the extravaganza.