
ARtist Jill Magid Etched a Phrase Onto 120,000 US Pennies That Reflects Society’s Greater Concern for Financial Bodies Than Human Ones
The penny is full of paradoxes. It costs the government nearly two cents to make just one, and even though there are more of them produced then all other coins combined, you always seem to end up a couple short.
Earlier this year, it was another penny-related contradiction that caught the attention of artist Jill Magid: As numbers in the billions are thrown around with talk of economic peaks and valleys, the penny feels worthless; at the same time, it’s never seemed so potent, so charged with a sense of transmission and tactility.
“What kept striking me during the pandemic was the casual and causal relationship between economics and health,” Magid tells Artnet News on the unveiling of a new project commissioned by Creative Time, which puts in parallel two networks—the American economy and the virus. “There was a constant [question] of ‘How’s the stock market doing?’ versus ‘How many

Virtual meetings of local government bodies in jeopardy after Supreme Court ruling
Local governments across Michigan are in limbo following a state Supreme Court ruling, uncertain whether they’ll be able to keep holding public meetings virtually.
The court last Friday, Oct. 2, struck down Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s authority to continue Michigan’s state of emergency amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s the state of emergency that has empowered Whitmer to unilaterally issue orders like allowing public bodies to hold electronic meetings since March.
After several months of livestreaming meetings using platforms like Zoom, elected officials around the state are now wondering if they’re going to be forced to return to in-person meetings.
“Things got even more interesting in this incredibly strange year,” said Ann Arbor City Council Member Ali Ramlawi as the issue came up during a virtual council meeting Monday night.
While the governor said Friday her orders remain in effect for 21 more days and the Michigan Municipal League has advised
Budget should reverse ‘brazen’ Coalition cuts to transparency bodies that hold government to account
Anti-corruption experts have urged the Coalition to use Tuesday’s budget to reverse “brazen” attacks on accountability and transparency bodies, saying the current government is “extraordinarily” eager to conceal its activities.
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Photograph: Danny Casey/AAP
The Centre for Public Integrity on Monday released an analysis of the funding of 11 crucial government bodies, including the Australian National Audit Office, the office of the Australian information commissioner, the Australian Human Rights Commission, the commonwealth ombudsman, the CSIRO and the ABC.
© Photograph: Danny Casey/AAP
The ABC is among organisation’s targeted for funding cuts by the Coalition, along with others including the CSIRO and the Australian National Audit Office, who revealed the sports rorts affair.
In many cases, the centre found that funding in real terms had either fallen or not kept pace with additional workloads since 2010-11.
The analysis found total funding had been cut by $1.4bn in

Budget should reverse ‘brazen’ Coalition cuts to transparency bodies that hold government to account | Australian budget 2020
Anti-corruption experts have urged the Coalition to use Tuesday’s budget to reverse “brazen” attacks on accountability and transparency bodies, saying the current government is “extraordinarily” eager to conceal its activities.
The Centre for Public Integrity on Monday released an analysis of the funding of 11 crucial government bodies, including the Australian National Audit Office, the office of the Australian information commissioner, the Australian Human Rights Commission, the commonwealth ombudsman, the CSIRO and the ABC.
In many cases, the centre found that funding in real terms had either fallen or not kept pace with additional workloads since 2010-11.
The analysis found total funding had been cut by $1.4bn in real terms and the percentage of budget allocation to the 11 agencies had dropped from 1.14% to 0.6% over the past decade.
The audit office, which has recently revealed the sports rorts and Leppington Triangle scandals, is among the worst hit, according