DINNER PARTY INTEL: Google’s tongue-lashing | fidget spinners | India’s luxury tax plan
The topics you have to be able to discuss this week
1. Counting costs Google received a tongue-lashing last week after it argued in court that compiling salary records for its employees was too much of a logistical challenge and too costly an exercise. The rebuke came from the US labour department, which has accused it of underpaying women. Noting Google’s nearly US$28bn annual income, attorney Ian Eliasoph said: "Google would be able to absorb the cost as [easily] as a dry kitchen sponge could absorb a single drop of water." 2. New obsession Is it a fad, or is the demand for fidget spinners here to stay? By the middle of May, every one of the top-10 bestselling toys on Amazon was a type of handheld spinning toy. Writing for academic website The Conversation, Katherine Isbister, computational media professor at the University of California, said fidgeting doesn’t start with spinners: those who click ballpoint pens are fidgeting to help them stay focused. It’s not just a fad, says Isbister, who researches how people use fidget items. ...
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