Ellen Ruppel Shell

Contrary to what we're so often told, American students are not bad at math and science.The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development published a study not long ago that concluded that, contrary to fears expressed by educators and potential employers, American students have not wavered in their interest in science and math over the past 30 years. But, the study also found that many of the highest performing students were choosing non-science and math…… More »

In Wednesday's New York Times, Tom Friedman posited (yet again) that Americans are losing ground because we are lazy, passive, and/or just plan ignorant. As is his custom he begins with an anecdote, a supposedly chance encounter with a one time PepsiCo and Kraft Europe executive now laboring in the stony fields of international investment. We learn nothing of this man's personal educational background or his credentials, but we do hear him warn that " education…… More »

The New York Times reports today that drywall imported from China and used in newly built homes in the U.S. emits fumes that can lead to headaches, nose bleeds and other nasty symptoms. Apparently, the fumes also corrode and/or turn "every piece of metal indoors" black. The Times goes on: "While tainted Chinese imports like toothpaste, pet food and baby formula have been quickly removed from store shelves, drywall is installed throughout homes and does not lend…… More »

Last month, Hyatt Hotels Corp. fired 98 housekeepers, many of them veteran employees who made $15-per-hour, and replaced them with $8-per-hour "temporary" workers provided by Hospitality Staffing Solutions, an outsourcing firm in Atlanta. While the details are murky, and Hospitality Staffing Solutions has refused to respond to this correspondent's repeated request for specifics, at least some of these new employees are reportedly "guest workers'' on H-2B visas. …… More »

It's rare for me to write two posts in one day, but Michael Pollan's brave opinion piece in today's New York Times deserves applause, and amplification. In it, Pollan points out that a shockingly significant share of the skyrocketing cost of health-care can be traced to the nation's high rate of obesity and obesity linked disease. This phenomenon, he says, is about to get swept up in a "sea change." Pollan writes: AGRIBUSINESS dominates the agriculture…… More »

Last week the Los Angeles Time published an attack on my new book, Cheap: The HIgh Cost of Discount Culture by wacky blogger Charlotte Allen. The tongue lashing went something like this: in these tough times, Shell and similarly misguided elitists (Michael Pollan came in for a particular drubbing) want us all to PAY MORE. NPR then invited Ms. Allen to broadcast her thoughts on Talk of the Nation. There she elaborated that while it's certainly true that Chinese…… More »

China, "factory to the world," sends fleets of container ships to our shores, as do many other nations. But who precisely makes the stuff contained in these boats? Where do they make it and under what conditions and circumstances? The answer to these vexing questions may soon come in the form of a tiny barcode sticker called GS1 DataBars. Here's the technical description: GS1 DataBar (formerly Reduced Space Symbology or RSS) symbols can identify small items and…… More »

The formidable Megan McArdle and I have just begun our discussion of CHEAP on her site, and, not surprisingly, several of Megan's followers are outraged at the suggestion that predatory pricing has contributed to labor abuses and environmental devastation, in addition to doing serious damage to the bargaining power of Americans who work. (At least one of these critics has gone so far as to accuse me of being a "liberal arts" major! Given my struggles with organic…… More »

This entire week I'm discussing CHEAP: The High Cost of Discount Culture with Atlantic colleague Megan McArdle on her fascinating and informative site. It seems that Megan and I both spent a portion of our younger years in menial jobs that required us to share bedrooms--and in Megan's case a bed--with strangers. Interestingly, this did not lead us to similar world views....so the discussion should be lively and possibly even enlightening. I look forward to your…… More »

To Reason and Beyond has been dormant these last few weeks, thanks to an arduous promotion schedule for my new book: "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture." Those of you with the inclination can seek said book AT A DISCOUNT on Amazon , and readers who do not yet have the inclination may be persuaded by the review in Sunday's New York Times Book Review. Those who still have a niggling feeling that CHEAP is not for them may seek out still another opinion at…… More »

My new book Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture (Penguin) publishes this week. It's a narrative investigation of the history, science, psychology, economics, and societal implications of low price in America, very broad based and--I hope--what you would call a "damn good read." This from an early pre-publication review: "Just in time for the current economic recession, Shell investigates America's fixation with discount retail prices.This highly…… More »

Ellen Ruppel Shell is an Atlantic contributing editor and the author of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture. 65 … More »

Years ago, I wrote about lead poisoning for The Atlantic--reporting that blood lead levels in the United States had declined dramatically since the ban of lead in gasoline, and that when it cames to lead, most middle class American families had little to fear. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of families in La Oroya, Peru--thanks to Doe Run Peru, a lead smelting operation owned by American billionaire industrialist Ira Rennert. According to the Times, in…… More »

Today's Times features a front page piece by labor reporter Louis Uchitelle (author of the estimable The Disposable American on the shortage of experienced blue collar workers--like welders. While MBA's, lawyers, and other knowlege workers struggle to hold their footing in this slippery economy, welders, it seems, are in high demand. To illustrate this point, the Times relates the story of Keelan Prados--a welder with more than a decade of experience who nabbed a…… More »

The New York Times gave a nod to sensible cheap chic this week, with a lengthy piece touting second hand haute couture describing shoppers "spelunking for treasures at the Goodwill store on West 25th Street." It was a fun and informative story, and a charming respite from the now chillingly familiar sagas of home foreclosures and families having to chose between medicine and food. The Times wrote: "The 5,500-square-foot thrift outlet is a laboratory of sorts…… More »

Last week, the food pages of the New York Times had a long piece on dry cooked ham. Seems that "country ham" doesn't always come from a country where people actually like to eat. The store-bought stuff is often "an inexpensive regional product whose usual fate is to be soaked in water, then poached and baked with a sweet fruit glaze." Well, yes, that's what I think of when I think of ham --a pink, tasteless mass oozing brine at the end of the buffet line. …… More »

As the author of a book on obesity (The Hungry Gene) I cannot resist responding to Ed's observation that restaurant goers tend to order unhealthy items when said items are coupled with healthy items--like side salads. I do not agree with Dan, that no one goes to restaurants for "healthy food"---anyone who has lived in New York City for any length of time knows that many people stay slim and healthy while almost never cooking for themselves. Some of us do seek out…… More »

It's wonderful to be here with you, blogging on the Atlantic site. I've got a new book coming out next month: Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture--the themes of which will sometimes be reflected here--but my entries will be far ranging and, I hope, provocative. Here, for example, is a bit of travelogue... Thanks to the recommendation of (among others) my wise and worldly Atlantic colleague Corby Kummer, I just spent two weeks in Puglia, Italy, a…… More »

Spam and turkey tails have turned Micronesians into Macronesians. A case study of how fatty Western plenty is taking a disastrous toll on people in developing countries… More »

Britain's horrifying experience taught us a few things, but perhaps not enough to preclude an outbreak of our own… More »