News From the Control Tower - 3/4/2021

News from the Control Tower: Our weekly curated list of news stories affecting you and your finances.

This week’s reads include:

1. Charlie Munger Renews Robinhood Criticism, Likens App to Racetrack Betting

Online brokerage calls Munger’s comments ‘disappointing and elitist’

2.  Atlanta creates the nation's largest free food forest with hopes of addressing food insecurity

The forest is part of the city of Atlanta's larger mission to bring healthy food within half a mile of 85% of Atlanta's 500,000 residents by 2022, though as recently as 2014, it was illegal to grow food on residential lots in the city.

3. Fast-Food Menu Prices Have Soared During the Pandemic

Limited-service restaurants’ prices rose at twice the rate as full-service restaurants last year, says RB’s The Bottom Line. The reason is likely demand and wage rates—and delivery prices.

4.  Examining the Black-white wealth gap

Gaps in wealth between Black and white households reveal the effects of accumulated inequality and discrimination, as well as differences in power and opportunity that can be traced back to this nation’s inception.

5. What's in the $1.9 Trillion House COVID Relief Bill?

A summary of the major elements of the $1.9 trillion plan.

Bonus: The family with no fingerprints

The men in Apu Sarker's family appear to share a genetic mutation so rare it is thought to affect only a small handful of families in the world: they have no fingerprints. They still can't buy a Sim card or obtain a driver's license, and obtaining a passport is a long and drawn out process.