Could the most consequential member of the Biden cabinet be the secretary of Transportation? — By Matthew Yglesias When President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet takes office later this month, all eyes will be on the public-health officials coping with Covid-19. But one of the most difficult and important post-pandemic tasks — restoring America’s deteriorating mass-transit systems — will rest with the secretary of Transportation.

Stimulus payments of $2,000 will be a big boost to those that need it, and won’t do any harm to the economy. Most of all, it’s politically savvy. — By Conor Sen Let’s get down to brass tacks: Sending $2,000 in direct payments to Americans is a politically effective but economically inefficient way to provide needed relief to workers and families. When Congress recently approved a new stimulus package, it included $600 cash payments to Americans. But that struck…

The iPhone maker has more than enough capital and R&D to make a splash in the auto business — By Liam Denning Tim Cook must be gutted.

It would be hard on the company’s managers, but not on consumers or society — By Cathy O’Neil What would happen if Facebook disappeared tomorrow? Would people suddenly be unable to communicate online? Would the economy screech to a halt? Would anyone be deprived of a good, service or piece of information that was somehow crucial to their existence? Of course not. Which is why…

Before Trump, outgoing presidents — and even an incoming one — mainly acted out with remarkably personal slights — By Stephen Mihm In 1797, President George Washington was determined to unambiguously hand over the nation’s reins for the first time. He attended the inauguration ceremony of John Adams, his vice president, to show his support. …

Think about fees, security and customer service access — By Erin Lowry Last month my husband asked me about the trading app Robinhood and whether I’d seen reports of its users getting hacked and having their money stolen. Apparently, the victims had trouble getting in touch with company representatives. The situation led to a larger conversation about investing apps…

Beat the pandemic blues by investing in exercise, experiences and other people’s well-being — By Sarah Green Carmichael As the saying goes, money can’t buy happiness. That certainly seems to be true in 2020 — rates of depression and anxiety are up, even though many households have more cash on hand than usual. Savings rates in the U.S. spiked to a previously unfathomable 34%…

How much the U.S. economy would be helped by forgiving college debt is a matter for debate — By Noah Smith and Michael R. Strain A tantalizing possibility has been dangled in front of millions of Americans who took on crippling debt to acquire a college education: What if that financial burden was lifted? The Democratic Party endorses the idea of the government forgiving at least a portion…

Hindsight shows that the Cares Act saved the U.S. economy, and how badly the country needs another round of bipartisan statesmanship — By Michael R. Strain There is widespread agreement that the $1.8-trillion economic recovery package that went into effect in March — the Cares Act — averted economic disaster after the coronavirus pandemic began. But even that conventional view understates its true success.