Inflation

As the Fourth of July approached, America’s sky prepared to display vividly colored fireworks in rhythmic fashion, a spectacle that reminds one of the ebbs and flows of our economy.  Just as fireworks launch into the night, so too does our economic activity, bursting with energy and brightness during periods of prosperity.

Shrink is an interesting word.  For a simple, monosyllabic word, it has many meanings.  More and more, it is used frequently in the fields of economics and finance.

Many resources are thrown at solving the last-mile problem.  Logistics firms spend countless dollars trying to optimize the final phase of a delivery.  The same challenge haunts public transportation in many metropolitan cities.  Once a rider exits the train or bus, how do they efficiently get to their end destination?  Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has helped b

For not fully understood reasons, conditions for the Big Bang were met about 13.8 billion years ago.  This unfathomable event set off a series of reactions.  Evidence of the reaction’s aftermath is observable even today.  For instance, according to NASA, we can still see the heat that was there roughly 380,000 years after the expansion of the universe (13.42 billion years a

The world is just a few days removed from the 2024 solar eclipse, and some have already booked their flights and places to stay for the next one.  It will happen on August 12, 2026 and will be visible in Greenland, western Iceland, and northern Spain.  Happening in August, the event is more than two years away, yet we know when it will occur because of math.

There are endless choices of kids’ entertainment these days, so Atlas will opt for a more timeless cartoon to illustrate the point we’re trying to make: Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.  It’s all about the chase.  Unfortunately for Mr. Coyote, it happens to come with many missteps, often leading to a cascading outcome.

Inflation hurts most those who can afford it least.  Just ask the poor Tooth Fairy.  This mythical creature has been keeping up with the cost of living for a long time.  Despite the great dental plan her job comes with, she doesn’t seem to earn enough to retire.  Instead, she doles out money every night to kids as they sleep after their teeth fall out, no matter the ca

At times it can feel as if America’s current circumstances are unique.  However, patterns often emerge which appear similar to those of other periods.  At the foundation of history are people, individuals influenced in a large part by emotions, no differently than we all are today. 

We’re nearing the end of the first month of this calendar year, so if you haven’t committed to a resolution, Atlas might be able to help.  Resolutions are difficult to stick to, so Atlas has come up with one that could be easier.

Climbing a mountain implies a single direction: up.  Yes, from time to time you might reach a false summit that then dips lower for a bit, but the general direction of travel is up.  Inflation isn’t much different.  During your entire life, there have only been rare exceptions to the rising climb.