Economics

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is widely regarded as the start of the winter holiday shopping season in the United States. Each November, newsrooms gear up to cover this annual rite of retail, dispatching journalists in the early morning to shopping malls and discount stores to help report on the frenzied — and sometimes violent — competition for the best deals of the day.

Death and taxes: They’re not only unavoidable; for the very rich, they’re also inseparable. The estate tax — the “death tax” to critics — is a levy on your property when you expire. But the threshold is high and few are required to pay.

Entering the labor market can be a tough adjustment for high school graduates. The state of the economy plays a big role. Graduate during a recession, and it’s harder to find a job; during a boom, and you may even have a choice of jobs.

The effect of sales taxes is hotly debated. These taxes on consumption raise revenue for local governments, but do they also stymie business and hurt consumers?

It’s difficult to assess the net worth of the world’s super-rich. Havens like the Cayman Islands, Switzerland and Hong Kong are happy to stash their cash, offering privacy and a shelter (often perfectly legal) from taxes. And without knowing how rich the rich are, we can’t make an accurate assessment of income inequality.

Videos of white nationalists chanting “Jews will not replace us” surely startled anyone who thought anti-Semitism long dead in the America of 2017. But for others it simply confirmed that old prejudices die hard.