Perhaps the most influential economic policymaker of his or any era, the former Federal Reserve chairman died this week at 100. Greenspan left behind a debate about whether he supercharged the American economy or inadvertently caused its near-destruction. 

He “helped define modern American capitalism” during his two-decade Fed tenure, said NBC News. Greenspan’s policy judgments “created an enormous amount of wealth and prosperity for our country” during the decade-long economic expansion of the 1990s, said Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, to CNBC. On the flip side, critics believe the Ayn Rand acolyte’s embrace of laissez-faire capitalism set the stage for the financial collapse that caused the Great Recession in the late aughts. 

Good or lucky?
Greenspan was a “maestro of monetary policy,” said The Economist. His Federal Reserve “kept the American economy humming” through one of the longest economic booms on record. But it was not long after he left the Fed that the global financial crisis arrived. 

No one promoted the free-market system with “more ardor” than Alan Greenspan, said Roger Lowenstein at The New York Times. Those principles “work well most of the time,” but the 2008 financial collapse was “not one of those times.” 

Greenspan’s “worst moment” came when he pronounced himself “shocked” that banks had failed to protect themselves or their shareholders in the rush to make bigger profits, said The Wall Street Journal. In truth, he had a “keen” understanding that government “can’t fine-tune the economy or create wealth.”

Lessons for Kevin Warsh
Greenspan’s supporters remember his Fed delivering “mostly stable prices, booming asset markets and steady economic growth,” said Jonathan Levin at Bloomberg. Those fans include Kevin Warsh, the new Fed chairman appointed by President Donald Trump. Warsh should understand that Greenspan’s hot economy was partly produced from a “good deal of economic and demographic luck” — the kind of positive development Warsh “can’t bet on today.”

The newly appointed Fed chairman should learn from Greenspan’s legacy as a “bipartisan operator,” said Harry Kraemer at Forbes. Greenspan served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, after all. The Fed’s commitment to “balancing low unemployment and rising inflation does not have to be politicized.”

Gone are the days of working a grueling nine-to-five. Employees have started microshifting, a practice of completing duties in short, productive bursts. This allows workers to make their own schedules and save time for other obligations and hobbies.

‘Little bit of autonomy’
Approximately 65% of employees are interested in microshifting, according to an analysis by Owl Labs. The practice took off during the pandemic at the height of remote work. Covid-19’s “work-from-home requirement demonstrated that employees can work successfully from anywhere, without a boss watching over them,” said The Wall Street Journal. Now, “flexibility increasingly means giving employees more control over when they work, not just where.”

Microshifting is most common in “industries where flexible work arrangements already are common,” said the Journal. People with “caregiving responsibilities at home, for children or other relatives” are more likely to try it. And over time, management has become more “adept at giving a little bit of autonomy,” said Kevin Rockmann, a professor of management at George Mason University’s Costello College of Business, to The Associated Press. 

‘Good to take breaks’
Microshifting can have benefits for both employers and employees. Breaking the workday into shorter chunks allows workers to “squeeze in some personal business,” giving them “more time to relax and enjoy” days off “rather than spend them running errands,” said Moneywise. As a result, they work when they are “most focused and productive.”

“From a creativity standpoint, it’s good to take breaks,” said Rockmann to the AP. “When you stop thinking about a task is when your best ideas come to you.” Microshifting can also improve relationships and reduce burnout. “Taking walks or attending a child’s school function can be reinvigorating for people who get drained from sitting at a desk,” said the outlet.

‘Have to be more aware’
Microshifting also has its risks. A lack of a clear schedule can “gradually weaken our ability to commit to longer stretches of uninterrupted work,” said Aytekin Tank, the founder and CEO of the workflow automation platform Jotform, at Forbes. It may also lead to a less collaborative work environment, said Moneywise, and employees have to “be more aware of the preferred work hours of colleagues.”

People wade in the water alongside mangrove trees at Walakiri Beach in East Sumba, Indonesia. Walakiri offers a “distinct blend of ecological wonder and photographic opportunity,” said Walakiri.com, with the unique mangroves “often described as dancing due to their gnarled and expressive forms.” 
Bay Ismoyo / AFP / Getty Images

Horror films are enjoying a jump-scare moment, as hit films like “Obsession” and “Backrooms” thrill zeitgeist-moving Gen Z audiences. And summer promises to deliver yet another slew of memorable thrills, including these highly anticipated features.

‘Ice Cream Man’
Ari Millen (“Orphan Black”) plays an ice cream man whose wares convert children into demonically possessed killers, who then turn on their parents and teachers in ways that make “Children of the Corn” look like a bedtime story for toddlers. Director Eli Roth, who also stars in the film, “looks to slaughter any sense of good taste with his brand new horror movie, delivering a blood-soaked exploitation film,” said John Squires at Bloody Disgusting. (in theaters Aug. 7)

‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’
Hannah Einbinder stars as a young, queer filmmaker tasked with rebooting a trashy slasher franchise called “Camp Miasma.” Writer-director Jane Schoenbrun (pictured above at center with stars Gillian Anderson, left, and Einbinder) “approaches critiques of transphobia in horror cinema with so much levity and irreverence,” said Samantha Allen and Ana Osorno at Them. (in theaters Aug. 7)

‘Hope’
Rounding out the summer, South Korean director Na Hong-jin returns with his first feature since the wild, justifiably acclaimed 2016 horror movie “The Wailing.” The film is “jammed with sharp semi-parodic meta-commentary,” said John Bleasdale at Sight and Sound, yet it remains a “full-on, unapologetic action movie packed with breathtaking and breathless car chases, horse chases, foot chases and monster chases.” (in theaters Sept. 9)