Economics in the News – Sept. 7-13, 2026
Economics impacts our lives every day. Below are some of the top storylines from this past week related to economics.
o SpaceX was the summer’s top initial public offering (IPO) – as it completed the largest IPO offering in history, leading its CEO Elon Musk to become the world’s first trillionaire. It is part of a recent trend of space tech start-ups, as investors have doubled last year’s investment. At the forefront is Open Cosmos – an 11-year old satellite making company in Britian.
As SpaceX was debuting on Wall Street, European leaders worried that Europe had become too dependent on Musk’s rocket company and was falling too far behind the United States in the commercialization of space. Open Cosmos recently announced that it had raised more than 300 million euros from European backers. Open Cosmos relies on SpaceX and other rocket launch companies to get satellites into space. And it sells Earth-observation data to governments and businesses. It is also seeking to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink with orbital connectivity – high speed broadband. [The New York Times]
o Cable television’s downsizing has been swift. Nearly 75 percent of American households -- more than 100 million -- had a cable subscription in 2010s. Five years ago, nearly 40 percent of American households still relied on cable. Today, that number has dwindled to 19 percent, according to Nielsen. And nearly half of all TV in the United States comes from streaming platforms.
Similar to cable TV’s drastic slide, the Cable Center – a Denver hub that shared cable TV’s history, showcased artifacts, hosted annual conferences and fundraising events – has slid to its downfall as well. Its former headquarters have sold, and its artifacts are in storage. Its top event – The Cable Show – brought about top industry producers and executives, anchoring the industry’s calendar. As many cable and media companies have consolidated, that led to the cancellation of the event and the job loss of two-thirds of the nonprofit’s employees. [The New York Times]
o With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), many fast-food restaurants turned to digital ordering systems to fulfill diner food orders. Now, some of these restaurants are reversing course after market research suggests that customers want their order to be taken at the counter in a friendly way. McDonald’s is prioritizing customer service at their restaurants throughout customer visits. Wendy’s is reviewing its practices with AI technology.
The screens have turned off many diners, along with higher food prices. While digital ordering helped increase customer spending and reduced counter lines, customers believe that has detracted from hospitality in lieu of fulfilling delivery orders and keeping up with the drive-thru line. Diners are opting to less-tech reliant restaurants such as Arby’s and Chick-fil-A where the customer service is often friendlier. [The Wall Street Journal]
o As pressure begins to mount for Congress to reform Social Security before the fund is projected to run dry in 2032, some Republicans are beginning to change their tune. A few Republicans have come off the party’s long-standing stance of not raising taxes in proposing to raise the payroll tax cap so people with higher incomes pay more into the program.
Social Security was created during the Great Depression. It is the single largest program in the federal budget, paying $1.7 trillion to more than 70 million Americans. The program is funded by payroll taxes with workers and employees each paying 6.2 percent. As such, workers who pay into the system can receive monthly benefits as early as age 62. While the annual collections exceeded the cost of benefits for many years, now that the baby boomer generation is aging Social Security pays out more than it collects. The program has threatened to insolvency before with former President Ronald Reagan agreeing to increasing payroll taxes and gradually raising the retirement age in 1983. In 2005, former South Carolina senator Lindsay Graham argued for raising payroll taxes and trimming benefits. [The Washington Post]
o How do individual communities react to data centers being built in their backyards? The National Association of Realtors sought to answer that question in a study to determine the impact of data centers on the real estate market. While data center construction has accelerated in recent years, much of that construction is concentrated to one percent of the country.
Many of the areas in which data centers are being built – such as Northern Virginia and Silicon Valley – are areas that have above-average income levels and housing prices. Those type of communities with already strong economies are not seeing much impact from data centers. However, in other parts of the country that are smaller communities, with less robust economies the impact is quite different. In Abilene, Texas, a $500 billion data center that is projected to be the largest in the country is under construction. It’s in an area where there aren’t enough homes to keep up with demand. The construction has led to an influx of people coming to the city, boosting the economy but long-time residents are raising concerns over energy usage and the environment. [NPR]
