In this week’s “Make Me Smart” newsletter, we explore how the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates are courting union voters, the impact of extreme heat on Americans’ utility bills and what the “Make Me Smart” team learned about attending the Olympics.
“When unions are strong, America is strong,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told a crowd of public sector workers in Los Angeles this week, as he made his case for why workers would fare better with Kamala Harris as president than with Donald Trump.
Many unions are already on Walz’s side. As governor of Minnesota, Walz supported several pro-worker laws. He signed off on a minimum wage for Uber and Lyft drivers, expanded protections for organizing workers and made new non-compete agreements unenforceable. If elected, Walz said he and Vice President Kamala Harris would extend similar rights to workers nationwide.
No party can take union voters for granted. Union workers make up only 10% of the U.S. labor force, but they are a powerful voting bloc. The Harris-Walz campaign estimates there are 2.7 million union members in battleground states. Considering President Joe Biden won the Electoral College in 2020 with just 44,000 votes in Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin, union workers could play an outsized role in deciding this election. Unions can also get out the vote, beyond their own membership. Union leadership often supports Democrats, but their rank-and-file members are more politically diverse. In 2023, 39% of union members said they leaned Republican.
Former President Donald Trump wants the union vote too, and he seems willing to diverge from GOP orthodoxy to get it. While many congressional Republicans support a national “right to work” law — a type of law that can weaken unions — Trump said in a meeting with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters last month that “right to work” should be left up to states. But some of Trump’s labor-friendly comments behind closed doors conflict with other statements he’s made publicly. The former president told Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier this week that workers who go on strike should be fired. In response, the United Auto Workers filed an unfair labor charge against Trump and Musk, accusing them of violating federal laws that prohibit intimidating striking workers.
Trump was once a union member, but he resigned from the Screen Actors Guild in 2021. He’s not the first entertainer-turned-president in the guild, either.
Electricity bill skyrocketed this summer? Join the club.
About seven in 10 Americans say extreme heat is impacting what they pay for utilities. That’s according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey published last week, which found that the heat is also affecting time outdoors, exercise, sleep and work.
Americans will pay an average of $719 to keep their home cool this summer, up $57 from last year and $243 from a decade ago.
Remember, extreme heat isn’t just costly; it can be deadly, especially coupled with high humidity. Last year, the U.S. saw the most heat-related deaths on record.
So how can we beat the heat without breaking the bank? Solar panels and heat pumps come with huge upfront costs, as we explored on “How We Survive.” But anyone, including renters, can make their home a bit more efficient for about $100, by covering windows with blackout curtains or being more selective with AC.
The 2024 Olympics wrapped up in Paris last weekend, and two members of our team were there. Kai Ryssdal and Courtney Bergsieker shared their takeaways for anyone interested in attending the Games in 2026. Let’s do the numbers.
There were 10 million tickets available at the Paris Games, with some going for as little as 25 euros. Kai said his cheapest seats were $200 apiece. On the high end? “Let’s just say a shit ton,” he told us. All tickets must be bought and sold through the International Olympic Committee, so there’s no secondary market.
The IOC sold 45% of tickets at less than 100 euros. Producer Courtney Bergsieker kept to a strict budget with her friends by selecting less-popular events that still sold a lot of seats. She watched tennis, soccer, beach volleyball, BMX freestyle and men’s cycling, all for less than $300 total.
Along with their tickets, international spectators could expect to spend at least $5,000 to attend the Olympics, including flights, transportation, hotels, food and souvenirs. Courtney kept her costs to about $3,000 for six days by staying in the Paris suburbs, splitting a two-bedroom Airbnb with five other friends and cooking most of her own meals. She did splurge on some merch, including a little Phryge.
If you think it’s too soon to plan a trip to the Olympics, think again. Courtney and her friends signed up for a ticket lottery two years prior to the Paris games. The 2026 Winter Games in Milan, Italy, are only 539 days away. Tickets will be available February 2025, but you can already sign up for on-sale alerts.
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Too often, the items we put in our recycling bins end up in landfills and incinerators. Writer Ellen Rolfes (hi!) recommends reading a ProPublica deep dive into whether companies should get to label their products as “recyclable” or “compostable” when the materials aren’t repurposed.
Apartment flippers who scooped up older buildings during the pandemic aren’t raking in the profits they hoped for. Rent growth forecasts were too optimistic, and now they’re stuck with risky debt. Editor Stephanie Siek is reading a Wall Street Journal article (gift link) about America’s $80 billion in toxic apartment loans.
Rather than optimizing your life to be the best, perhaps all you should be shooting for is incredibly average? Editor Tony Wagner is reading a Business Insider article on how people are reframing their life and work goals to be just good enough.
