A new paper in the journal “Nature” finds that the rate of scientific innovation has been on a steady decline, despite living in the most technologically advanced age in the history of humanity. Co-author Russell Funk, a professor at the University of Minnesota, helps us understand what’s going on. This round of corporate layoffs could portend a larger slowdown in the labor market, which has remained hot. And, yesterday’s GDP numbers may be good on the surface, but there are some less-than-ideal signs deeper in the report.