| | | | | | | | | | | Axios What's Next | | By Jennifer A. Kingson, Joann Muller and Erica Pandey ·Mar 02, 2022 | | Hello and welcome to Wednesday! - Axios is reporting on the developments in Ukraine — here's our dashboard if you want to check out the latest.
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Today's Smart Brevity count: 1017 words ... 4 minutes. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Babysitting prices soar |  Adapted from UrbanSitter; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios The average hourly rate for a babysitter leapt 11% in 2021 to $20.57 an hour — far outpacing the 7% rate of inflation — as the labor shortage made child care providers harder to find, Jennifer A. Kingson writes. Why it matters: The increase was undoubtedly a big blow for many working parents. But higher wages are great news for babysitters themselves, who have traditionally been underpaid. - And rising prices could be a prelude to more child care subsidies, both public and private — particularly as bosses have watched on Zoom screens how their employees struggle to attend meetings amid wailing children.
Driving the news: UrbanSitter, which connects families with child care and other household help, looked at booking data from more than 10,000 families to calculate babysitting rates across the country. - The survey — the company's 11th annual — found an 11% rate hike in 2021. By contrast, babysitting rates only rose 3.9% from 2019 to 2020.
- "The bumps that we saw this last year, it was just really disproportionate to anything we've seen previously," Lynn Perkins, the founder and CEO of UrbanSitter, tells Axios.
- Annual increases of 4% to 5% were typical in the past, but "this is the first year we've seen it really outpace inflation significantly."
- Vaccinated sitters get higher wages.
The big picture: Because of the great U.S. labor shortage and COVID, there's a smaller supply of child care providers, and they're able to charge more. - Sitters with big credentials have also joined the market, and they're charging higher rates.
- "We have seen more former teachers, nurses, early childhood education specialists, and others leave their jobs to pursue other opportunities," including babysitting, tutoring and elder care, Perkins said.
While it's tough for many families to have to pay more — and some have had to scrimp on child care as a result — pandemic-era government subsidies may have offset some of the extra costs. - Another silver lining: The pandemic has put focus on the #1 stressor for families, juggling careers and caregiving.
- And on the plus side, "I think caregivers are finally getting the rate that they deserve," says Perkins.
Read the rest |     | | | | | | 2. Where drone delivery is becoming routine |  | | | Photo: Courtesy of Wing | | | | Google's drone delivery service, Wing, is rapidly becoming mainstream in Logan, Australia, the drone delivery capital of the world, where it recently had its busiest day ever — one delivery every 25 seconds, Joann Muller writes. Why it matters: Wing's growth is accelerating as it lines up new retail partners and as customers get used to ordering items for instant delivery. The company recently surpassed 200,000 deliveries worldwide — doubling in six months — including 30,000 deliveries in Australia so far in 2022. - Wing is also doing limited drone deliveries in Christiansburg, Virginia, and Helsinki, Finland.
Driving the news: Wing announced a new partnership with Coles, one of Australia's largest supermarket chains, to begin delivering more than 250 grocery items to customers in the capital city of Canberra. - Another new partner is KFC.
What to watch: The Federal Aviation Administration is working on regulations that would allow more widespread drone deliveries in the U.S. - In Australia, at least, drone delivery is already becoming a routine part of everyday life.
| | | | | | | | 3. Lawmakers express "extreme concern" over border robot dog plan |  | | | The robot dog. Photo: Courtesy of Ghost Robotics | | | | A small group of Latino U.S. House members recently expressed "extreme concern" about a plan to potentially dispatch robot dogs along the U.S.-Mexico border, Russell Contreras writes in Axios Latino. Driving the news: A letter obtained by Axios Latino shows that U.S. Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) are seeking a meeting with U.S. Customs and Border Protection about the robots. Details: In the letter, the House members write that the term "robot dogs" is a "disingenuous moniker that attempts to soft-pitch the use of this technology." - "It downplays the threat the robots pose to migrants arriving at our southern border and the part they play in a long history of surveillance and privacy violations in our border communities."
- The letter also said the members are concerned that the robot dogs will inevitably result in armed patrols and that they could critically injure, or even kill, migrants or American citizens.
Read the full story | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Communications that boost alignment and productivity | | |  | | | | Tune in on March 3 to learn about the communications strategy that's helping Axios and 200+ organizations keep stakeholders in sync and create a culture of transparency and empathy. Register for the free session. | | | | | | 4. What we're reading |  | | | A dudleya in a shade garden in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Photo: Iris Schneider/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images | | | | These tiny succulent plants are being poached by the thousands (Vox) In California, you can go to prison and pay a steep fine for stealing wild dudleya plants — also known as "liveforevers" — but people are doing it anyway. "The small, cactus-like succulents, which grow in lotus-shaped rosettes of fleshy leaves, are so valued by collectors that, in recent years, dudleya have been pilfered by the thousands from their native habitat and shipped around the world to be sold," Meredith Lawrence writes in Vox. Amsterdam Plans the Netherlands' First Modern-Day Wooden Neighborhood (Bloomberg CityLab) The city intends to "build an entire neighborhood out of wood, a renewable material that the region hopes will be key in reducing building emissions." The new neighborhood will have "ten new apartment blocks, a primary school and social facilities, housing an estimated 2,100 residents in 700 new apartments." These Classes Are Near-Death Experiences, and That's a Good Thing (TIME) College courses on death and dying have grown more popular during the pandemic, writes Melissa Chan of TIME. Sometimes, homework can include planning your own funeral. | | | | | | | | 5. 1 🍸 thing: Inflation hits nightlife |  | | | House of Yes in the before times. Photo: Nicky Digital via Getty Images | | | | It's getting more expensive to go out as supply chain issues, labor shortages and inflation hit bars and clubs, Erica Pandey writes. What's happening: New York has always had costly nightlife, and now prices are quickly going up, the New York Times reports. Ponyboy, a cocktail-oriented bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn upped the price of its drinks by a dollar. - One reason: Owner James Halpern told the Times a case of limes went from $20 to $30 a few years ago to $100 now.
House of Yes, a club in Bushwick, Brooklyn, is charging around $30 a ticket on a Friday or Saturday, up from $25. The club is now losing money on Sundays, which used to be a "break-even" day, co-owner Justin Ahiyon told the Times. My thought bubble: If you can afford it, get out there and support your favorite bar. But there's no shame in drinking cheap wine at home. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Communications that boost alignment and productivity | | | | | | | | Tune in on March 3 to learn about the communications strategy that's helping Axios and 200+ organizations keep stakeholders in sync and create a culture of transparency and empathy. Register for the free session. | | | | Was this email forwarded to you? Get your daily dose of What's Next magic by signing up for our free newsletter here. |  | Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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