$20 concert tix… plus $35 in fees. CA Gov. Gavin Newsom's been on a vetoing streak, striking down bills promising unemployment benefits for striking workers and decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms. But his tune changed with the signing of a bill banning "junk fees" as of next July. Also called "drip pricing," junk fees are added costs that companies tack on at the end of transactions, often taking consumers by surprise. Picture: nightly "resort fees," food-delivery "processing fees," and "service charges" for tix.

• Nothin' for somethin': The FTC says junk fees cost US consumers tens of billions of dollars/year. But unlike splurging for a room upgrade (hello, ocean view), junk fees don't add value for customers.

• Bait and switch: Companies that don't slap on last-minute fees may at first glance appear pricier to bargain-hunting shoppers. That could translate to losing business to drip-pricing competition.

As goes California… so goes the nation? It's not just the Golden State that's fed up with such fees. Yesterday President Biden hyped proposed FTC rules that would require companies to list final prices (including any mandatory fees) up front. The FTC said that even if it were only applied to ticketing and lodging, the rule could save folks 50M+ hours/year of wasted time, as finding the actual best prices online would be more straightforward. By one estimate, that adds up to $10B+ in savings over the next decade.

Enough drips can start a flood… Just as junk fees can pile up to create a drag on household budgets, CA's new law and the FTC's proposed rule could stack up to create real change across industries. The shift may've already started: after Biden teased the rule in February, both SeatGeek and Ticketmaster owner LiveNation said they'd show ticketing fees at the start of each transaction. And recently Airbnb released its "total price display" tool, which shows fee-weary customers the total cost (minus taxes) of bookings up front.

Cash on the (electric) hood… Snaggin' an EV could get a lot easier. On Friday, the Treasury Department proposed a rule that would let EV and plug-in-hybrid buyers get up to $7.5K in tax credits right at the dealership. FYI: Most EV drivers have been eligible for the "clean vehicle" tax credit since last year, but confusion over who qualifies and which models are eligible have made the process a hassle. Now:

• Cash back: Instead of waiting a year for a tax-szn refund, the new rule lets buyers transfer their credit to dealerships and get discounted off the sticker price right away (or receive a cash refund in days).

• Gas cap: Single filers with an income under $150K/year (or married couples making under $300K+) are eligible. But since most of the US falls under that threshold, the insta-rebate could rev up adoption.

Price-tag tune-up… While EVs have surged in popularity, lots of mid- to low-income earners have stayed on the fence, mostly because of cost. Case in point: 42% of Americans still think electric cars are too expensive. Now the industry's slashing prices: Tesla's Model 3 sedan today costs $38.9K — $8.7K less than the average car or truck — after Musk's company cut prices several times. In August, luxury-EV maker Lucid cut its Air sedan price by $5K.

Accessibility drives adoption… EVs made up 7% of all new cars bought in the US in the first half of the year, but make up only about 1% of cars on the road. If the rule passes, policy experts say it could even the playing field for millions of Americans who've been priced out. The rule could also help Biden's goal of EVs making up half of new-car sales by 2030.

New Nobel laureate… Claudia Goldin was awarded the economics Nobel Prize for research that helps explain why women earn less than men. Her win helps to close a gender gap in her own field: Goldin is the third woman to be awarded the econ Nobel — and the first to win it solo.

• Women still make ~80 cents on the dollar to men, a figure that's barely budged in 20+ years and is even lower for Black and Latina women.

No laurel resting… Goldin's research starts more than a century before Rosie the Riveter, analyzing 200+ years of women's labor-force participation. What we'd circle in neon Sharpie:

• For most of history, the pay gap was a product of women having less education and lower-paying occupations. But that's changed: most of the disparity today is between men and women working the same jobs.

• The single biggest factor now determining when a woman starts to make less than her male counterparts? The birth of her first child, when she's likely to leave the workforce or work fewer hours (cue calls for affordable childcare).

The wrap: To close the gap you have to know what's keeping it open, and Goldin's work helps uncover that.